


The sound of silence

by haikyuu__stan



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Cute Hinata Shouyou, Deaf Hinata, Everyone Loves Hinata Shouyou, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, M/M, Oblivious Hinata Shouyou
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:42:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 32
Words: 31,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27235186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haikyuu__stan/pseuds/haikyuu__stan
Summary: Hinata Shouyo is a first year at Karasuno. He loves playing volleyball ball and is the purest sunshine ever.This story gives us different povs of what Hinata's life at Karasuno is like and how they all fall head over heels for our baby.*SPOILER ALERT*Hinata Shouyo is deaf. UwU (there's no other way of saying it)
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Hinata Shouyou, Azumane Asahi/Hinata Shouyou, Bokuto Koutarou/Hinata Shouyou, Haiba Lev/Hinata Shouyou, Hinata Shouyou & Everyone, Hinata Shouyou/Everyone, Hinata Shouyou/Iwaizumi Hajime, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Kozume Kenma, Hinata Shouyou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Hinata Shouyou/Miya Atsumu, Hinata Shouyou/Miya Osamu, Hinata Shouyou/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Oikawa Tooru, Hinata Shouyou/Tendou Satori, Hinata Shouyou/Tsukishima Kei, Hinata Shouyou/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Hinata Shouyou/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi
Comments: 133
Kudos: 1606





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Hii! This is my first work ever and I'm still getting used to this platform. I am not a professional writer and my work will probably have mistakes. Feel free to point them out in the comments below and to suggest ideas for plots.  
> Enjoy the story!~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata Shouyo is a first year at Karasuno. He loves playing volleyball ball and is the purest sunshine ever.  
> This story gives us different povs of what Hinata's life at Karasuno is like and how they all fall head over heels for our baby.  
> *SPOILER ALERT*  
> Hinata Shouyo is deaf. UwU (there's no other way of saying it)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hii! This is my first work ever and I'm still getting used to this platform. I am not a professional writer and my work will probably have mistakes. Feel free to point them out in the comments below and to suggest ideas for plots.  
> Enjoy the story!~

"Nngh..." Hinata groans "leave me alone". The finger that keeps poking at his sides stops suddenly, as if doubting what to do next. Making a final decision, it moves to poke him again, this time harder and deeper into Hinata's ribs "OW, what the-" he turns around to see a big smile and a pair of large honey eyes staring at him "Natsu, it's still early, let me-" he gets interrupted by a long sigh.

"No it's not, it's already half past six and you're going to be late for school". Panicking, Hinata turns to look at the alarm clock beside his bed just to realize that it is indeed quite late. 

"Omg no! I'm going to be late!" Jumping out of bed and thanking his sister with a kiss to her forehead, he rushes into his bathroom to freshen up and gets ready to leave. 

"Bye mum!" Hinata shouts from the front yard, he hops onto his bike and rushes downhill, not moving his legs too much and just letting gravity do his work, quickly rolling down the road. He squints his eyes slightly at the feeling of strong wind against his eyes "My first day of school... I'm excited!" he thinks to himself. And with that in mind he hurries the rest of the way to his school.

Staring at his surroundings, Hinata whispers "Woah, I made it to Karasuno" a smile escapes his lips unconsciously "this is going to be awesome!". After setting his bike down and chaining it to the bike rack, he starts to walk around, trying to find his first class. 10 minutes later he still hasn't found his classroom. "I think I'm lost" he murmurs. As soon as those words leave his mouth, he feels a light tap on his shoulder. He turns his head around and his gaze meets a pair of smiling grey eyes adorned with a small mole right beneath the left eye.

"Hi, you seem lost. Do you need help?".

***

"First day of school and I'm already missing my bed" Suga thinks "just thinking about how warm I felt this morning tucked under my bedsheets, I feel like shedding a tear or two". He lets a sigh out "Let's not think about that right now. I have to get to my first class before the bell rings". He looks up to the corridor and a flash of orange hair catches his attention "huh, what a rare hair colour" Suga thinks to himself. As he approaches the small boy, his facial features become clearer: a small, thin nose; round, plump, pink lips; tiny freckles like small snowflakes on his cheeks and nose; and large, honey-coloured eyes that harbor a glint of confusion and panic.

He gets close to the boy (who isn't looking his way) and says "Hi!". The boy doesn't look at him, not even a slight flinch due to the sudden source of sound. "Ah, maybe he hasn't heard me?", he moves closer to him and taps his shoulder. He jumps a bit and starts to turn around. "Hi, you seem lost. Do you need help?"

As soon as the boy has turned around fully, Suga gets overwhelmed by his beauty. It's true that he had found him cute when he saw the boy from afar, but watching him from up close is different. He can clearly see all of his freckles, and the shine in his eyes is starting to make his knees weak. After a few moments, the boy smiles at him and says "Hello! I'm sorry for bothering you, but would you mind telling me where my classroom is?". His face forms a small pout and he stares at Suga with puppy eyes. 

"Omg how is he so cute, I feel like my heart is going to pop out of my chest" he cries to himself. "Of course sweetie. My name's Sugawara Koushi. You can call me Suga" he smiles at the boy and the boy's smile only grows wider.

"Thank you Suga-san! I'm Shōyō, Hinata Shōyō". And with that, they set off to Hinata's class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter. Remember to leave any advice or suggestions below.  
> Hope you liked it and see you next time!~


	2. Karasuno volleyball club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter up and running!!  
> Nothing else to say, but enjoy it and remember to leave your comments and suggestions down in the comment section!

The bell signaling the end of the classes starts ringing and everyone packs up quickly, all of them wanting to get to the canteen first to get a hold of the best seats. Everyone but a certain orange-haired boy, who remains oblivious to all of the ruckus going on around him. 

"Hey Hinata" a girl taps the boy's shoulder and he jolts up, meeting her gaze in the process "we're heading to the canteen, do you wanna come with us?". Hinata's eyes light up at the mention of food (he's a real foodie and not ashamed of showing it) and his lips curl up to a tight grin. 

"Yeah! I've been staving for hours now!" he says. The girl giggles, trying to hide her blush, and makes way for the boy to get up from his seat. Hinata packs everything up and follows the girl to the canteen, joining a group of his classmates who are having a heated conversation over who can stuff more rice into their cheeks without choking. 

*Time skip to the end of the day*

"Oi Hinata! What are you doing after class? We're going to a karaoke with some friends, wanna join us?" Haru (Hinata's classmate) asks. They had already grown fond of the small orange boy and his sun-like personality, afterall, he was always bubbly and happy around everyone without being conscious of the effect that his smiles had on his classmates' hearts. 

"Sorry Haru, I've already got something to do today. Enjoy yourselves, byyee!". As soon as those words leave his mouth, Hinata is rushing down the corridor on his way to what he thinks will be the best part of his high school life: the volleyball club.

***

Hinata can't stop trembling in anticipation. He has been waiting for this moment for so long, he just can't believe his dream is about to come true: he is finally going to be part of a volleyball club. Sure, he had been part of a volleyball club once, but he had been the only real member in it! He had had to ask everyone for tosses or serves (if he was to make a list of the people he had asked, it would most probably be neverending), even his classmates who were already in a club had had their handful of puppy eyes, pouting and infinite begging being thrown their way. And, now, he's finally going to be in a real club with real teammates who love volleyball as much as him (or almost as much as him).

The moment he sets foot out of the school building and into the short path that leads to the gym, his stomach starts to feel weird "I'm starting to get nervous..." he thinks. Not wanting to make himself wait any longer, he jumps straight ahead through the gym doors and onto the hardwood floor, only to end up face to face against a 5'9 foot tall boy with dark blue eyes and a scary face. "Ack-" Hinata lets out a small cry as soon as he falls on his feet, barely inches away from the raven-haired boy's face. "I'm sorry! I didn't know there was someone here!" he bows deeply and straightens himself to meet the other boy's gaze "Wait a moment... IT'S YOU!".

***

Kageyama had gotten here earlier than the appointed time, "club activities don't start until half past, I've still got some time to practice on my own" he murmurs, then turns around and starts serving balls, as hard as he possibly can, onto the other side of the net. The sudden sound of footsteps makes him turn towards the gym doors, an unfamiliar face only inches away from his, making him jump in surprise.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know there was someone here!". 

Kageyama looks at the smaller boy and thinks "I'm quite sure I was being loud with the serves, it's impossible for him not to have heard me. Is he trying to pick a fight?".

As soon as that thought crosses his mind, the smaller boy peeks up from his bow. His large, honey eyes glisten slightly in an attempt to hide his fear and regret "beautiful" Kageyama thinks. "I-" before he can utter another word, a loud gasp interrupts him.

"Wait a moment... IT'S YOU!". Confusion clouds his eyes and his brow furrows even further.

"Do I know you?" he asks. He watches as the surprise in the boy's eyes gets replaced by hurt and incredibility, but those emotions disappear as fast as they appeared, a pout forming at his lips and a glint of disappointment flashing through the honey pools in his eyes.

"You don't remember me? You are the mean guy who beat me in my first ever volleyball match!"


	3. Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter! This one's slightly longer than the ones before. Do you prefer long or short chapters?  
> Leave your comments down below, hope you enjoy!~

"Huh?" Hinata watches as realisation sets in the taller boy's eyes "Oh. I remember you. We beat you in the first round, right?" His eyes widen and Hinata furrows his brows.

"Oi, you don't have to rub it in y'know". That match had been a hard hit to take on. For young Hinata, whose everything was volleyball, being defeated after his first match had been difficult to accept, especially after all the hard work he had put in during his middle school years. 

Hinata's eyes waver slightly as he raises his head in determination "I'm not the same person that I used to be, I've learnt a lot, and I promise I will beat you someday". That being said, he really didn't know how he was going to beat the boy infront of him "Why are we on the same team?!" he thinks "I can't beat him if we're teammates!".

Immediately after, he notices the tall boy's gaze fixating on something other than him. Following his line of sight, Hinata notices three young men coming through the gym doors.

"Suga-san!" he exclaims after recognising the silver-haired boy.

"Hinata!" Suga shouts back "I didn't know you were joining the volleyball club". Hinata notices the wrinkles forming at the edges of the older boy's eyes as his smile widens, which only entices Hinata's own smile to grow wider. 

Hinata wasn't aware of the effect that his movements were having on all of the present boys: Suga's eyes close ever so slightly to protect himself from the light Hinata's smile is radiating; Kageyama's lips curl into a small grin as heat rises to his cheeks; and the other two boys stare wide-eyed at the small sunshine, the shortest of them both bringing a hand to his chest, clutching at the fabric and faking a tiny heart attack. 

"Well, well, well" the boy says "who do we have here?". Hinata notices the boy approahing and bows slightly.

"My name's Hinata Shōyō, nice to meet you..." he trails off, realising he doesn't know the boy's name yet.

"Tanaka Ryuunosuke, second year" the boy says proudly. 

"Nice to meet you Tanaka-senpai!" Hinata smiles. 

"Tanaka-senpai" the boy repeats to himself softly, feeling his heart rate increasing each time he replays those words in his mind "Hinata my kouhai!" Tanaka exclaims excitedly, hurrying over to the smaller boy to attach him into a tight embrace. 

"Okay that's enough. Let the poor boy breathe". Tanaka releases the boy and Hinata stares at the taller boy who is now standing infront of him. "I'm Daichi Sawamura, a third year and your captain from this day onwards". Hinata's eyes widen at the mention of the word 'captain', his actions not going unnoticed by Daichi, who was quick to give him a small smile "Oh, and remember not to call Tanaka your senpai too often. He'll get too used to it and his ego will become bothersome" he states, earning a small "Hey!" from a dejected Tanaka.

After some more presentations and brief explanations on how Suga had met Hinata, the older boys acknowledge Kageyama's talent for volleyball (they had seen him play during the match against Hinata) and suggest starting practice to assess the younger boys. 

*Timeskip of ten minutes or so* 

Kageyama is starting to feel the pressure of having his upperclassmen (including his captain and vice-captain) assessing him on his volleyball skills. He knows he's good, talented as some may prefer, but he can't help thinking about the consequences that him messing up could bring. 

"Let's start with receiving" Daichi says.

"Thank the lord, I'm quite good at these" Kageyama relaxes his muscles slightly, only to notice the small pout on his smaller teammate's lips "Guess not everyone enjoys receives" he thinks. Soon, he understands why Hinata had tensed up: he sucks at recieving. 

Kageyama wasn't trying to belittle his teammate, he was just stating a fact. He thinks some advice might help the pretty boy, so he looks at him, opens his mouth and the only words that come out from it are "Boke Hinata Boke! Use your arms not your chest!" Well, he tried. 

"I'm trying Bakageyama! No need to be so rude" Hinata pouts. And with that small facial expression, Kageyama feels like his heart is gonna explode.

"S-stop doing that with your f-face and receive the next one properly Boke!" his cheeks get redder the more the sunshine boy stares at him. Feeling the stares of his other teammates, he looks down at the floor and attempts to calm his wild heart down.

After some more receiving the gym doors open again, revealing two tall boys and three slightly shorter ones. "Hey! We've brought the newbies with us" one of the shorter boys says.

"Chikara! About time you showed up!" the unruly Tanaka yells, earning a slap to the shoulder from Suga, who tells him off for yelling again. 

"Oh. More first years?" He says pointing at Hinata and Kageyama. Kageyama tenses up slightly, unsure of how to act properly infront of his upperclassmen.

"Kageyama Tobio, nice to meet you". 

"Hello there, my name's Enoshita Chikara. These here are Narita Kazuhito and Kinoshita Hisashi, we're all second years" Kageyama nods in understanding and turns to look at the other two boys. 

The taller boy is blonde and wears glasses, while the other boy has green hair and freckles all over his cheeks and forehead. "H-hello, I'm Yamaguchi Tadashi and this here is Tsukishima Kei" the green-haired boy stutters.

"Shut up Yamaguchi" says Tsukishima.

"Gomen Tsukki" is his reply. Slightly amused at this exchange, Kageyama can't help but stare a little.

"What are you looking at king?" Tsukishima says. 

"King". Kageyama hadn't been called that for a bit now and, to be honest, he preferred it that way. He detested that nickname. It only brought back old memories that reopened his wounds "Don't call me that" he growls. 

"Aw. Is the king throwing a fit? How amusing" Tsukishima says once again. At this rate, Kageyama knows he's going to explode and jump at the boy's throat. But then- 

"King? That's a cool nickname! Hmph! Stupid Bakageyama, why do you have such a nice nickname?"

***

Tsukishima knows he has seen this boy somewhere before. "What are you looking at king?" judging by the other boy's reaction, he can most certainly be sure that this is 'Kageyama Tobio, the king of the court'. "Aw. Is the king throwing a fit?" he doesn't like him already and, the fact that Kageyama's answering back to his teasing, only encourages him to keep going. But before he can utter another word: 

"King? That's a cool nickname! Hmph! Stupid Bakageyama, why do you have such a nice nickname?".

Tsukishima looks around to find the source of the voice. He tilts his head downwards and meets the ginger boy's gaze "What the-".


	4. Spiking drills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4!!  
> Nothing much to say, just enjoy!~

"What the-" Tsukishima has never seen someone look so much like a doll before: the smaller boy's big, round eyes are staring at him from under his thick and long eyelashes. "Urgh, he's too bright" he thinks to himself. "Oi. And just who are you shrimp?" he spouts.

"I'm Hinata Shōyō and I'm not a shrimp!" the boy answers. 

"Damn he's cut-" he catches himself from thinking those words "What was I about to say? I'm quite sure being with these idiots is already affecting me" he thinks, not believing he could have been in his right mind when those thoughts crossed his mind. "Sorry but you'll have to speak louder than that if you want me to hear you from down there" Tsukki smirks. He knows he will rile the boy up. It's his defense mechanism against cute things (or people, in this case). And that being said, he turns away from the boy's stare and walks over to the rest of the team, introducing himself along the way.

Watching the smaller boy's pout as Tsukki moves inside the gym, Yamaguchi thinks "Hehe, he's quite cute, just like an abandoned puppy". He smiles uncontrollably, but just enough for no-one to notice, he doesn't want that face to be the first impression his teammates have of him. "Don't worry Hinata, Tsukki's just like that sometimes" he tells the shorter boy. Not noticing a reaction from the boy, he asks again "Hinata?". 

"Is he ignoring me? Have I done something wrong?" not obtaining any type of reaction, he looks down as panick starts to bubble up inside his chest and he starts to think about walking out the gym and never coming back "This is embarrassing. I'm being ignored by the cutest boy ever and I don't even know why...". He feels a finger on his hand.

"Hey are you okay? I'm sorry, I hadn't heard you. I didn't want want to be rude or anything, you see-" Hinata starts rambling.

"Nononono. It's fine, don't worry" Yamaguchi reassures him, already feeling the pressure subsiding. 

"Are you sure? You seem like a nice person and I don't want you getting the wrong idea" Hinata mumbles.

"Hey, it's fine. Let's play volleyball?" Yamaguchi offers, trying his best not to smile too wide at the compliment he has just received.

***

As they all start practicing, it becomes very clear that the smaller boy has outstanding stamina and jumping abilities. "Hey! How high was that jump?" whisper-yells Daichi.

"I know right. This year is going to be amazing!" exclaims Suga excitedly.

*Timeskip to the middle of practice*

"Use your hands! How can you keep missing?!" yells Kageyama. Him and Hinata have been practicing spikes, and although Hinata is very (VERY) good at running and jumping, he can't seem to manage the spiking part well. The bickering between the two has been going on for, at least, 20 minutes and everyone's either too afraid to intervene (Yamaguchi), or too amused by the situation to bother about saying something (the rest of the team). 

"Okay, okay. That's enough yelling for today" Daichi comes to the rescue "Both of you sit down on the benches for some time and cool off those nerves of yours". He sighs. Daichi had been finding the bickering amusing and entertaining at first, but after ten minutes of constant yelling at each other, he was done. "I don't want to hear you guys insulting each other for, at least, another ten minutes. Understood?". Don't be fooled, although he had phrased the sentence as a question, his tone declared that it was a statement. 

"Yes" both of the boys answer.

"Why can't he spike my tosses?" Kageyama turns to look at the ginger boy sitting beside him and meets his gaze. "Try to trust me more" he says. 

"And how am I supposed to do that?" the smaller boy asks. 

Seeing the clear confusion in Hinata's eyes, he answers "I don't know, but I'll make sure the ball gets to you" and, with that, he stands up to grab a bottle of water. He is too busy thinking about how to adjust to his spiker's tendencies to notice the small boy getting up and walking in the other direction to were his bag is. 

Kageyama finishes drinking and turns around to watch his seniors. He can feel Daichi's stare, warning him about the 'no bickering' rule. Choosing to ignore his captain's gaze, he shifts towards the further end of the court, where Suga is getting prepared to set for Tanaka. 

"Give me a good one Suga!" Tanaka yells "I'm gonna show all these newbies what a good spike looks like". Having said that, he earns a few "don't spout nonsense" and "stop acting all high and mighty" from his fellow second years. With a loud groan, Kageyama watches as Tanaka runs up to the net. 

Suga sets the ball. Tanaka archs his arm back and spikes. The ball lands with a loud "thump" on the other side of the net and bounces back up, flying directly towards a certain redhead who is looking through his bag for something.

"Oh no" thinks Kageyama. "WATCH OUT" he hears as the others yell.


	5. Deaf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aayyee!! We made it to chapter 5 already.  
> Enjoy it!~

Hinata is calmly looking through his bag looking for his cellphone when "Aha! Here you are" he turns around and feels something hit his face. He falls back, hits his head on the ground and, then, everything's black.

***

Suga gets ready to set for Tanaka and thinks "Here he goes again, boasting about how his spikes are the best. Haha, it would be fun to see him mess up and embarrass himself after everything he's said". Even though Suga looks like an angel from the outside, he's got a little devil on the inside that takes over his consciousness from time to time, making him a scary man. Even scarier than angry Daichi. "Ah, well. I'm not that mean" Tanaka's safe for now. Suga sets and watches as Tanaka jumps in to spike. He looks over the net and his gaze falls on a certain redhead who's looking through his bag. His eyes look back at Tanaka and follow the ball's trajectory. Straight in the ginger boy's way.

"FUCK" he whispers "WATCH OUT!". Although he has yelled this last part, he can't stop the ball. And it flies directly into the poor boy's face.

***

"Hmph. I'll show them my best spike and they'll have to shut their mouths for once" Tanaka thinks to himself. "It'll be so amazing they'll have to apologize to me" he keeps on boasting.

As Suga sets the ball, he starts to run to the net. "Here it comes!" he whispers. He jumps, arcs his back and spikes the ball as hard as he can. "That felt good!" and he lands. 

Tanaka watches as the ball bounces on the floor and yells "Hell yeah! That was-" he watches on as the ball ricochets in the small boy's direction. 

He hadn't even noticed the boy was there before spiking and, now, he is regretting his actions.

"Shit" he sees the boy fall to the ground "shitshitshitshit" he runs in the boy's direction "Hinata!".

***

They all start running towards the fallen boy. "Hinata are you okay?!" Suga yells. He's feeling anxious. He doesn't know what to do and looks at Daichi, who is now crouching next to him and looking worriedly at the boy. "What do we do?!" he's panicking. 

"Hey, calm down. We don't know if he's hurt so roll him over a bit" Daichi tries to keep his cool. He's worried sick but he can't show it. He must put a strong front and try to calm the team down. 

"He's not bleeding. Let's get him on a mat". As soon as he says that, Kageyama sprints into the small room at the back of the gym and grabs a mat. Tanaka helps him bring it to the benches and Suga lays the small boy on it. 

***

Although he doesn't show it, Tsukishima is now the slightest bit concerned for the ginger. Hinata's been opening his eyes slightly just to close them back up again.

"Why didn't he turn around when they yelled at him? He could've dodged that with those reflexes of his" he thinks out loud.

"It's weird right? The same happened before when he came into the gym when I was serving. He hadn't even noticed I was there until he was right infront of me" Kageyama says softly. 

Tsukishima turns around to looks at him "Excuse me, but who asked you?" he knows he's being childish, but he loves seeing the king's reactions. He watches as Kageyama strides off and he smirks victoriously, only to think back on the mad boy's words "Weird indeed".

***

Hinata feels the warmth of something pressing against his cheek and opens his eyes slightly. "Urgh" he notices a breathy groan slipping through his lips and clutches his head "owww" he whines. His eyes are fully open now and they are taking in everything around him.

"How are you feeling?" Suga says.

"My head hurts" he answers. He sits up and notices the stares of his teammates "What?" he asks confused. They share a look and Hinata catches the glimpse of doubt and worry flashing through their eyes. 

Confused, he asks "What's going on?". Getting no reply, he turns around and breathes out "Suga-san?". 

Suga looks at him and says "Hinata, sweetie, why didn't you turn around to dodge the ball when we called you before?". While Hinata had been slipping in and out of consciousness, Tsukishima had voiced out his suspicions, making his teammates worry even further than they already were.

Hinata can feel his eyes widening "I'm sorry I didn't know you were talking to me" he bows his head a bit. 

"There's no way you didn't hear that Hinata. I've never heard Suga shout so loud before. What's going on?" Daichi asks. 

Even though the small boy was a very recent addition to their team, they already felt a sense of familiarity around him. They all wanted the boy to be safe and sound without a single scratch on his delicate, porcelain skin. So, obviously, watching him fall to the ground to hit his head against the hardwood floor had not been a pleasant sight and, knowing that something else could be wrong with him, wasn't helping them calm down.

"Well..." Hinata trails off, feeling all jittery inside "I really don't know how to say this but, I'm deaf?".


	6. Deaf (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Chapter 6 is here!  
> I actually had to investigate a bit to make this chapter as accurate as possible, but please bear in mind I have no idea about this so the information could still be wrong haha...  
> Well, enjoy!~

"I'm deaf?".

Silence. Everyone's eyes start to widen more and more as reality settles in. Some of them have their jaws hanging open while others are pressing their lips together into a fine line, afraid of the words that could flow out if they left them wonder apart.

"W-what do you mean?" Suga asks. Don't get him wrong, he knows exactly what Hinata means by that, he just doesn't want to believe what his ears have heard. He's scared and worried about the ginger boy, afterall, he's never been in a situation like this before and doesn't know what the right thing to do or say is.

"Umm... Deaf means I can't hear" answers Hinata innocently (bless his heart).

"Nono, I know what deaf means but, how? I mean, you talk to us and answer our questions and-" Suga gets cut off by a hand on his shoulder. He looks at the owner of the hand and sees Daichi staring at him as if saying "calm down, you're making him nervous". He feels his muscles relax ever so slightly and a small sigh escapes his lips "Sorry Hinata, I was rambling. Would you mind explaining to us?". 

"Well..." Hinata starts "I wasn't born deaf you see, so I can talk 'cuz I remember how to make the sounds I need in order to speak, and I've learnt to read lips". Everyone stays silent, enticing him to continue his story. "Three years ago I got involved in a severe car accident that left behind two...bodies. I can say I was lucky enough to have been sitting in the back seat when the car I was in crashed into another car. I did get injured though: several stitches to my right leg and head, two broken ribs, and a major brain contusion. Apparently, I hit my head so hard that my middle ear bones got fractured and slightly dislocated, which caused my hearing loss".

A wave of sadness flows through the gym. They are affected by Hinata's story, of course, but the worse part about this is that he's smiling. "How can he smile after that?" they think.

***

"Why? Whywhywhywhy?! Why is he smiling? Why does he look okay? How is he okay?!" Kageyama's sad, concerned even, he doesn't understand why Hinata is smiling but he doesn't want him to stop doing it either. He's scared of thinking about the sunny boy all cover in blood and stitches. He CAN'T imagine this sunny boy crying and mourning over his hearing loss. 

"How can someone go through that and still smile when recalling those memories?" he thinks. 

"Why do you not look sad?".

"Huh?" Has he voiced out his questions? He turns around and sees Yamaguchi on the verge of tears, staring at the boy who, in turn, is staring back at him with surprise written all over his face.

"There" Yamaguchi thinks "He's asked what's on everyone's mind"(at least he thinks so). 

"Huh? Why wouldn't I be happy?". 

WHAT?! His eyes widen and his brain freezes. He doesn't wkow what kind of answer he was expecting, but it definetly wasn't this.

"I'm happy I survived. Thinking about the past sadly isn't going to fix the present, so I just take the good things". 

"Oh." That's all Yamaguchi can mutter out. 

Suga leans into the boy and hugs him tight, letting his hand rest on the curly locks of ginger hair from Hinata's head. Tanaka reaches down and attaches his arms around both of them, followed by Enoshita, Kinoshita and Narita (who are very close to crying). Daichi goes for a less touchy approach and settles on petting the ginger's head lightly, remembering the boy has a few stitches that could hurt if he presses on them too hard. Yamaguchi sits beside Suga and leans on them all, softly placing his arms around the group of people. Kageyama and Tsukishima just look at them (let them be, they're just not huggy people). 

Suddenly, the doors to the gym open and a woman steps in. She looks around and her gaze falls upon the bunch of boys who are huddled near the benches.

"What's going on?".


	7. The manager

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 7!!  
> I'm so sorry this one is a tad shorter that the other ones I've written so far, I'll try to make the rest of the chapters longer to compensate. Anyways, enjoy~

"What's going on?". Kiyoko had been busy organising papers about the new additions to the volleyball club, thus, her coming late to practice. Still, she wasn't expecting well... whatever this was: a small orange-haired boy sitting on a mat and being surrounded by tall men (much taller then the ginger) with watery eyes.

"Kiyoko senpaiiii!!!" yells Tanaka.

"Oh god, not again" she thinks to herself as she crouches down, successfully evading a jumping Tanaka. She turns around once more to stare at the group of boys and her eyes fall on the ginger boy once again. "He's actually very cute. Just like a doll" she starts approaching the group and introduces herself.

"Shimizu Kiyoko, third year student and manager of the Karasuno boy's volleyball club". She smiles and offers her hand to the surrounded boy, who smiles back at her and introduces himself too.

"Hinata Shōyō, first year student" Kiyoko notices the boy's nervous glance as he opens his mouth again "since everyone already knows, I'm deaf".

BOOM! Kiyoko takes her time to take in all of the sudden information:

First off all, he's undeniably cute. Like how can someone look so innocent and happy and perfect all at the same time?! Hinata's just sitting there, looking up at her and she's here, having a small heart attack.

Second, he's deaf. Wait, deaf?! She's surprised. With determination in her eyes, she turns around to face the boy and signs "Welcome to the club".

She watches as the boy's eyes grow wide and she smiles with satisfaction and appreciation.

"She's sooooo cool and pretty!" Hinata thinks. 

He hadn't noticed the girl's goddess-like features until she was up infront of him: long, black hair tied up in a high ponytail; dark blue eyes; and a mole that sits at the corner of her lips. Just perfect. But there's more.

SHE SIGNED!!

Hinata feels happy, happier than ever to have someone communicating with him like this. He's so excited that he starts to sign rapidly, quickly wanting to engage in a small conversation with the heaven-sent goddess standing right before him. Equally as quickly though, Hinata notices the word struggle written all over Kiyoko's face.

"I-i'm sorry. I haven't had a proper conversation with someone like this for ages. I guess I just got too excited" be signs slowly to her. 

The manager smiles slightly and she signs back "It's fine, don't worry". 

Now, Hinata is intrigued. He knows how hard it is to learn sign language and how difficult it is to find someone who actually knows how to use it. 

"If you don't mind me asking, how do you know how to sign?" (this is said in normal speech again to make sure the others don't feel left out and understand what the both of them are saying). 

"Oh. One of my childhood friends was born deaf, so I've learnt how to communicate myself using this language". 

"Wooahh!! That's amazing!" Hinata's eyes sparkle and Kiyoko can barely resist the urge to hug and pet the ginger boy. The others look surprised too, they hadn't expected their precious manager would have such an amazing hidden talent.

After a few moments, silence fills the room and the boys start to feel the tension building up again. Finally, Suga breaks the ice "Hinata" he makes sure Hinata is looking at him "Why didn't you tell us before? We could've helped". 

Hinata's nose crunches up and his muscles become more tense. "I'm small" he starts off, gaining a small snicker and a "We already know" from Tsukki (who, in turn, earns some death glares from the rest of the team). 

"As I was saying" Hinata starts again " I'm small, so I'm an easy target for insults and laughs. Playing volleyball whilst being short and playing in a position that's not the libero, I am often prejudiced. When I was in middle school, I would be picked on for playing a feminine game and for being short. Combine those two with me being deaf and you've got yourself a bunch of insults fresh out of the oven and ready to be thrown at me".


	8. Meat buns

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe this is already chapter 8!  
> Nothing else to say haha.  
> Enjoy it and leave your comments down below!~

Suga listens to the boy's story and becomes petrified. How could someone want to hurt the small ginger? "He's the literal embodiment of sunshine and everything nice " he thinks. 

"Hinata" he catches the smaller boy's attention "Our volleyball club is a family. We protect each other and help each other out when in need. Since you've joined the volleyball club, you are now part of this family" he turns towards the other newbies "All of you are part of this family. And I will make sure that none of my baby crows are hurt, not without getting a beating from me first". He earns a few grunts and nods of approval from the second and third years. Suga hears someone clearing his throat and turns around to see Daichi straightening his back. 

He watches on as Daichi turns to the boy and says "As the captain and head of this family, it's my job to take care of you guys and make sure you are safe. So feel free to tell us everything and anything that bothers you. I promise we will never make fun of it".

That being said, the whole team hugs the small boy one last time and gets ready to continue their practice.

*Timeskip to the end of practice*

"Okay everyone gather up!" Daichi says. The team starts to gather up but they notice a certain boy looking intently at the volleyball in his hands. Remembering the boy's condition, Daichi clears his throat and asks one of his teammates to go fetch him. 

"I'll go" replies Yamaguchi. 

Yamaguchi finds Hinata's story very interesting. He keeps thinking about the strength he himself would need to overcome such a traumatic experience. "If that had been me, I wouldn't be smiling right now" he sighs "I'd probably be all depressed, crying in my room". He smiles slightly to himself and gets ready to face the ginger boy. 

The taller boy taps his finger on Hinata's shoulder and notices the slight flinch and quiet yelp that escapes the smaller boy's body. "It's me" he says with a gentle smile. He knows Hinata can't hear him, but he has this feeling that Hinata can feel the gentleness in his voice "Daichi's calling us". He sees how Hinata's eyes widen slightly as he notices the rest of their team waiting for them patiently.

"Ah! Sorry, I got distracted" Hinata utters quietly, unconsciously making a pouting face.

Yamaguchi can't help it when he feels himself inspiring sharply. Hinata's just too cute to be real: his pouting lips and slightly furrowed brows give him a whole new puppy-like aura that makes Yamaguchi stutter. "I-its fine, l-let's go sit with them". He can feel a blush creeping onto his cheeks, so he turns away slightly and stares at the floor.

When they arrive to the group of people, he looks at Suga, who gives him an understanding gaze, and the blush on his cheeks darkens slightly.

***

"Poor Yamaguchi" Daichi thinks "I can see him stuttering all the way from here". Although he finds the exchange going on between his underclassmen very amusing, he empathises with the freckeled boy, afterall, he knows how hard it is to keep yourself calm and collected around the small ball of sunshine. The corners of his mouth shift into a small smile that doesn't go unnoticed by Suga.

"What are you thinking?" he's asked. He knows Suga is a very observing person and isn't surprised by his vice-captain's comment. 

"Look at those two. Yamaguchi looks like he's about to fall to his knees" he chuckles slightly and notices the growing smile plastered on his friend's face, a beautiful smile he must admit.

As the two boys come closer, he meets Hinata's gaze.

"S-sorry captain, I wasn't paying attention" the boy says and bows. 

Daichi walks up to him and places his hand on Hinata's fluffy hair, who raises himself slightly to read the captain's lips. "It's fine" he smiles "Oh. And call me Daichi, it's less formal". Hinata's eyes start to sparkle and his smile grows into a wide, toothy grin. "Damn that's bright" Daichi squints his eyes and calls out "Okay everyone, listen up".

After a quick summary of today's practice and the announcement of this week's practice timetable, Daichi concludes the first practice meeting. "Alright everyone, that's all for today. Grab your things and go home" he tells the team. "Suga!" he runs up to the silver-haired boy "let's go home together".

***

"So, what did you want to tell me" Suga asks. 

Even though they've only known each other for three years, Suga knows everything about Daichi (Daichi knows everything about Suga too); from the way he clenches his fists when he's upset to the way his strides become more bouncy when he's happy. He knows Daichi. So when he noticed Daichi stealing glances at him back at the gym, he knew there was something on his captain's mind.

"Haaahh" Daichi sighs "Was it that obvious?" he asks defeatedly. 

"Don't worry, it's only obvious to me" Suga winks with a devilish grin on his lips. He notices Daichi's cheeks turning a light shade of pink and decides to tease him a bit more "Aawww, is my captain embarrassed?" Daichi's cheeks are now red, very red. Good job Suga... 

"I'm only teasing you. What's up?" he finally asks. 

Daichi clears his throat. "Well, I just wanted to ask how you felt about the new incorporations to our team". He starts getting quieter, but Suga has good hearing and catches everything. 

"They've all got potential, and talent" he starts saying "and they've also got their flaws" he giggles a bit remembering the continuous bickering between the first years "But nothing that can't be fixed with a bit of team love and dedication" he concludes.

Unknowingly, they have reached the convenience store near their school "Do you fancy some meat buns?" Daichi asks "My treat, of course" he adds. 

Suga knows that something's up with Daichi, he looks more fidgety than normal and his gaze keeps darting all around. "Sure..." Suga answers. He watches as Daichi heads into the store to buy the meat buns and sits down on an empty bench "I wonder what he's got in his mind" he thinks.

Soon enough, Daichi is walking towards Suga with a small paper bag full of meat buns. "Here" he hands the bag over to Suga and he sits on the empty spot on the bench.

"Is everything ok?" Suga asks the brunette. Daichi has been quieter than usual and it's worrying Suga.

"I really can't hide anything from you, huh" Daichi replies. 

Suga can see him tense up and clench his fists "He's nervous" he thinks. He waits for Daichi to start speaking again, not wanting to force the boy to speak.

The truth is Suga has a soft spot for his captain. After three years of getting to know each other, Suga has found himself falling for the brunette. He doesn't know when it started or why, but he can feel his heart beating like crazy whenever they're talking or sharing memories from their childhoods. Who am I kidding, Suga loves this man: his tanned skin and toned body; his dark, chocolate eyes that convey his emotions even when he's trying not to show them; his soft, so soft, brown hair; the way he smiles whenever he recalls a past memory; the way his eyes wrinkle if the sun is shining too bright; how he always knows what to say if Suga's feeling down; etc. Suga could write a whole book about what he likes about Daichi! He's just so soft and thoughtful and perfect and- his thoughts are cut off by Daichi's voice.

"I've got something important to say" Suga can see Daichi's hands shaking ever so slightly. He watches on as Daichi takes a deep breath and turns around to meet his gaze:

"I like you".


	9. Daisuga sails

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 9th chapter up and going!  
> This chapter is also centered on the daisuga ship. I just felt like the rest of the characters needed some drama and fluff to make the story more interesting.  
> If you guys have any ideas for future daisuga dates, comment them down below!  
> Hope you enjoy!~

"WHAT?!" Is all Suga manages to say. His mind has collapsed and he's not thinking straight. "I'm quite sure he hasn't said that, I'm probably imagining things" he thinks (more like silently prays) to himself. His eyes follow Daichi's moves: fists clench, adam's apple bobs up and down, gaze wavers slightly... Oh god, he really has confessed! 

Daichi opens his mouth slightly and Suga takes this opportunity to press their lips together. It's a soft, quick kiss as he pulls away hastily to reveal his crimson red face. "You're an idiot! Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to confess? Years Daichi, years". He breathes in, smiles and takes a moment to appreciate Daichi's dumbfounded expression. "Pfft he looks so cute" he laughs to himself.

***

Daichi hadn't been planning on confessing to Suga until the end of his third year. He really hadn't, afterall, he's a bit of a coward when it comes to feelings. But watching him interact with their sunshine underclassman this afternoon, had set off something in him. He had seen a side of Suga that he hadn't seen before: his 'paternal' side. Of course, Daichi had seen Suga interacting with kids before and, Daichi must admit, he was very good at dealing with them. This time was different though, Hinata and his stupidly adorable personality had managed to unlock a new part of Suga's personality, one that Daichi hadn't been able to resist. 

Unstoppable thoughts of a future with Suga had swarmed into his head. He couldn't wait any longer to tell the shorter male what he felt for him, it was impossible. If he had waited any longer, Daichi thinks, he would have died due to the bottled up feelings and pressure inside his chest. And, so, he had decided to tell Suga after practice, on their way home. What Daichi hadn't expected was what he got as an answer.

"WHAT?!" 

Daichi's mind goes blank. Hasn't he made himself clear enough? Has he been too quiet to be heard properly? Is Suga so surprised by his words because he doesn't see Daichi as more than a friend? He can't stop thinking and doubting himself. That is until he feels something soft against his lips. He comes back to reality only to realise that Suga is kissing him, which sends him into overdrive again. Suga, his beloved Suga, has just kissed him. Is this a yes? Does Suga like him back? 

He slowly drifts into consciousness again, perking up suddenly at the sound of his vice-captain's voice. He doesn't hear anything that Suga is saying, he can only focus on the only question in his mind.

"Does that mean you like me too?" he blurts out. 

A sigh and a short pause is all he gets. His eyes focus on the silver haired boy infront of him.

"Yes Daichi, I like you too" Suga giggles.

That's it. That's everything Daichi needs to plunge his arm forwards under the setter's chin. Suga gets pulled into a passionate kiss, this time, longer than the one before. "I love you" Daichi whispers as he parts Suga's lips, a wide smile on his face. "Will you be my boyfriend?". 

This time, the answer is quick and decided "Yes!" and another short kiss.

*With Hinata*

He gets his things ready and leaves the gym, waving goodbye at his teammates and getting on his bike. "I'm hungry" he whispers as he feels his stomach grumble. "I'll pass by that convenience store I saw on my way here" he gets on his bike and starts pedaling away quickly. 

"Isn't that Daichi?" he thinks "Oh! And Suga". A small smile spread across his lips. "Is he going to confess?".

You see, Hinata may look innocent (and he is, don't worry) but he's actually very observant. Losing one of his five senses has caused his other four to develop, so it's no surprise that he can pick up on slight body language or movements. When he noticed the way Daichi looks at Suga, he understood the captain's feelings immediately. "Ooh so he's in love" he thought at the time. 

Hinata thinks Daichi and Suga are alike. Although he's only known them for a day, he can tell they care for the team and for each other. They share a familiar aura that makes Hinata wonder what they would look like if they got married and had (adopted in this case) kids. He just knows they'd be the perfect couple.

Now that he sees the nervousness in his captain's behaviour, he can't help but think about an imminent confession. So, Hinata being the pure baby the he is, he decides to take a peek at the situation. He silently prays for a confession, one with a happy ending of course. And, when his eyes watch his upperclassmen sharing a kiss, he squeales lowly to himself. 

Now that he's got what he wanted, he silently wishes both of them a happy ending and heads towards his bike, ready to go home. He's so excited and happy for his new friends, that he's completely forgotten about his hunger!


	10. Karasuno's Guardian Deity (1/2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter nº 10 is here!  
> If you haven't guessed by this chapter's title already, someone new is going to make their appearance soon!  
> Hope you enjoy it and feel free to leave any suggestions or improvements in the comments section!~

Hinata wakes up when he feels a hand ruffling his soft curls. "Hmm" he flutters his eyes open, batting his long eyelashes slowly.

A giggle can be heard ringing through the room. It's a soft, melodic sound that makes Hinata wake up fully. Although he can't hear it, he can feel the hand on his head shaking slightly as its owner laughs.

"Morning mum" he mutters yawning. Hinata has learnt to identify people by their moves and smells. "Cookies" he thinks as he takes a deep breath "She smells like cookies" and a soft smile appears on his lips.

Hinata's mum loves waking Hinata up. She always ruffles his hair or plants a small kiss on his forehead and can't help it when quiet giggles leave her lips everytime Hinata cuddles into her. "Come on sleepy beauty" she lifts his chin up so that his eyes meet hers "wake up and get ready for school". 

A small huff escapes Hinata's body as he mouths "Thanks mum". He gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom to freshen up for the day.

*Time skip to morning practice*

Hinata reaches the school gate and spots Kageyama at the vending machine "Good morning!" he yells.

"Stop shouting boke" he yells back. 

As soon as his bike is chained to the bike rack, he turns around, faces Kageyama and says as fast as he can "ibetyoucan'treachthegymbeforeme" before dashing in the gym's direction. 

"Damn it! I wasn't prepared" says Kageyama under his breath.

"It's... hah... a tie... hah" Kageyama breathes out.

"No it's... hah... not" replies Hinata. 

The taller boy turns around to say something else when he's met with a stunning view: the sunshine boy is leaning on the wall; some stray curls of hair are sticking to his forehead as the sunlight shines on them, making the orange colour glow beautifully; and his parted lips shine subtly under the rays of morning light. Simply beautiful.

Hinata feels his teammate's gaze on him and spins his head so that his honey eyes lock with deep blue ones. The raven haired boy's cheeks turn a light shade of pink and he stutters "l-let's get changed before the others get here". 

They make their way to the changing room and set their bags down. As Hinata takes his t-shirt off, Kageyama finds himself staring at the smaller boy's body "Freckles" he whispers. Realising that he's said that out loud, he gasps quietly and covers his mouth with his hand, relieved that there's no one here to hear what he just said. 

"Are you okay Bakageyama?" Hinata looks at him intently, slightly worried about his friend's behaviour. 

"I'm fine dumbass" he grumbles back, earning a 'huff' from the ginger boy who was only making sure he was fine.

Arriving to the gym, they realise that it's still a bit earlier than the accorded time and that there's no one there to open up the gym doors. "Wanna practice?" Hinata offers as he bounces his volleyball on his forearms. A subtle nod is all he needs to start smiling widely, passing the ball to the setter.

Ten minutes later, the jingle of keys can be heard a few metres away. Kageyama stops immediately, earning a confused look from Hinata, who follows the boy's gaze onto the pair of young men walking and chatting together. 

"Suga-san! Daichi-san!" Hinata yelps. They both turn their heads around and smile at the young, energetic ball of sunshine who is excitedly waving their way. 

Suga instantly replies with a happy "Hinata!" and a small wave, followed by the acceleration of his steps until he's face to face with the ginger boy. He bends down slightly and pets Hinata's hair, 'aww'-ing softly as he feels the boy leaning into his touch. Daichi nods Kageyama's way and opens the gym's doors.

*In the changing room* 

"Did you see that? He leaned into my hand! He's just so adorable!" Suga squeals happily.

Daichi laughs quietly at his teamma- no, boyfriend's antiques. He is much more fascinated by the way Suga handles his excited emotions (mostly by squealing some more and humming happily to himself) "You're much more adorable you know?". He smirks as he watches Suga's face turn crimson red.

"S-stop it Daichi" stutters Suga. 

"Hahahaha" this time, the captain's laugh is much louder than the one before, earning an elbow to his side, courtesy of Suga. 

"Hmph" Suga says and turns around to pack his clothes neatly into his duffle bag. 

Daichi snickers and opens his mouth to say something when-

"GOOD MORNING!!" a yelling Tanaka enters the room.

"Why are you so excited today Tanaka-senpai?" Hinata asks innocently when he notices the wide grin on the second year's face.

"Karasuno's Guardian Deity is coming back!" he yells. At this point, everyone in the gym, silently envies Hinata for not being able to hear Tanaka's constant yelling. 

"Tanaka! Stop shouting or you're gonna start running laps around the school" threatens Daichi.

"Guardian Deity?" thinks Hinata to himself. "That's such a cool nickname! I bet he's a super amazing volleyball player!" he smiles unconsciously and gets back to practicing.

Five minutes later, Hinata's curiosity has gotten the best of him and he's currently heading towards Tanaka to get his questions answered. "Tanaka-senpai" he taps his friend on the shoulder "Would you mind telling me more about the Guardian Deity?". Hinata's eyes sparkle with anticipation, just like a kid watching candies through the candy shop's window, making his request unreproachable. 

"Sure! Well... He's my best bro, he's amazing and helps defend Karasuno in ground battles. Although he's small, he's as energetic and fun as me, and his hair rocks!" he concludes. 

The small ginger is now vibrating with excitement and anticipation. He can't wait to meet Karasuno's Guardian Deity and learn as much as possible from such an amazing character.


	11. Karasuno's Guardian Deity 2/2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second part of the Karasuno's Guardian Deity is up and going!!  
> How and who should Hinata meet next?  
> Leave your suggestions down below!  
> Enjoy it!~

"Brooo!" Tanaka yells at the top of his lungs.

"Brooooo!" he gets back. 

A small boy runs up to him and they hug in the manliest way possible (it's really a normal, quick hug with a few pats on each others' backs, but lets allow them to feel cool) and start a very long handshake with fist bumps, claps and all sorts of other hand movements. 

Some time later, Tanaka finds himself catching up with his best friend "Oh! We've got a bunch of first years this time" he smiles proudly at the shorter boy "one of them calls me Tanaka-senpai" he finishes off. His grin can't be wider, even his chest is more puffed out than normal, and his strides are full of confidence. Two words: simple-minded idiot (we still love him though, so it's fine). 

Tanaka won't admit it, but hearing his name rolling off the ginger's tongue with an additional "senpai" added to it, makes him feel like the coolest upperclassman ever. Although Hinata has only been part of the team for a week, he sees the smaller boy as his younger brother (a very cute one that is), and nothing can make an older brother prouder than having his younger sibling calling him "cool" or "amazing" with those glistening eyes full of admiration. 

"What! I want that too!" exclaims the libero. Tanaka can feel his friend's jealousy clearly, and he's enjoying it. 

"Don't worry bro, I'm sure he'll call you that too" he reassures the shorter male (he's not that mean, you see). Suddenly, a warning sign flashes through his head "You should get prepared though, the kid shines". He pats the now confused boy's shoulder, smiles and strides off to class triumphantly.

"I'm sure he'll be surprised. I wanna see that!" he thinks.

*Time skip to afternoon practice* 

Tanaka gets changed and heads to the gym. As he reaches the doors, he hears "COOL!!". A smile spreads on his lips as he watches the scene infront of him: a red-faced libero standing face to face with the team's official sunshine kid.

***

Noya can hear the sound of squeaking shoes and bouncing volleyballs. "Man, I've missed this" he thinks. 

He's already wearing his sportswear when he sets foot on the gym's floor. A flying volleyball catches his eye. Without giving it a second thought, he jumps in the ball's direction and recieves it perfectly, making it bounce off of his arms right towards the setter's spot (which is now empty).

"COOL!!"

He hadn't even noticed the presence of other people in the gym, just being aware of the person who had served the ball (Kageyama). Noya turns around and jumps slightly at the sight of an unknown face only inches away from his. 

"That was so cool! How did you do it? Are you a libero? Can you teach me?" the face blurts out. 

He takes a step back subconsciously and his eyes wander around the unknown boy's facial features. "Oh wow he's cute" he screams internally, a blush creeping up his face. He can feel himself paralyzing. He doesn't know how to react infront of the angel, so he stutters "Y-yeah" and scolds himself for looking so uncool.

Getting over his embarrassment, he looks back up and notices the same look of admiration on the boy's face. He's secretly glad that the boy hasn't found his stuttering uncool and that he's still willing to talk to him. "So" he clears his throat and pushes the embarrassment away from his mind "Who are you kid?" he asks.

"Hinata Shōyō ! First year!" Hinata exclaims.

"Nishinoya Yuu, second year, nice to meet you Hinata" he's surprised at himself, he's managed to speak a whole sentence without stuttering infront of the cutest boy he's ever seen. 

"Nice to meet you too Nishinoya-senpai!"

That's when his mind goes blank. The word "senpai" keeps replaying in his head. Recovering quickly and feeling fulfilled, he grabs the boy's shoulders and says:

"Call me senpai again"

"Nishinoya-senpai!"

"Again!"

"Nishinoya-senpai!"

"Hahaha, that's right! I'm your senpai!" he laughs to himself.

Tanaka makes his presence clear by going up to the pair of boys and stationing himself behind Hinata "I told you he would call you senpai, didn't I?" he smirks slightly (making sure that the shorter boy couldn't read his lips). 

A small light bulb turns on in Noya's head "So it's him!". 

Noya stares at the ginger boy and Hinata tenses up a bit. Tanaka notices and mistakes Hinata's actions, believing the boy is trembling with excitement and not intimidation. "Behold: Karasuno's Guardian Deity!".


	12. Nishinoya-sempai!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 12 is here!  
> Sorry for the delay, yesterday was very tiring and I fell asleep before posting the chapter!  
> Don't worry, I will still post today's chapter later, so just enjoy them!  
> Remember to leave your comments down below!~

Wait...   
"Karasuno's Guardian Deity?!" Hinata shouts in realization. "No way! Noya-senpai, is that true? Are you really Karasuno's Guardian Deity?" his eyes sparkle and his face shows every single one of his emotions. 

"Hahaha, that's me!" replies Noya proudly.

"Nishinoya Yuu"

Everyone freezes in place (except Hinata, who hasn't heard and is still quite thrilled about his encounter with the libero). Noya turns around slowly and meets the captain's gaze.

"H-hey!" he stutters. He knows why his captain is mad, afterall, he had a fight with one of his teammates and was expelled for a whole week after pushing the school's principal (accidentally). What he doesn't know is that his captain is feeling great this morning and has decided to tease him a little bit.

Daichi can see the fear and guilt in Nishinoya's face "serves him right" he thinks. Then, a pat on his shoulder and a "don't be mean" from his boyfriend, plasters a smile on his face "I'm just teasing him" he pouts. He hears a soft giggle from Suga and he turns back to the libero, who is now staring at the floor. "Welcome back" he states in a soft tone. Nishinoya whips his head upwards, 'shocked' written all over his face, making Daichi chuckle.

"He's not mad?!" the libero thinks "Okay, something weird is going on".   
His head turns around to look for Tanaka, who has the same shocked expression as him. They share a look and Tanaka raises his shoulders slightly, demonstrating his confusion. 

"Okay everyone gather up" he hears Daichi say (the rest of the team has already arrived, but Noya hasn't noticed). 

Still confused, he heads towards his captain.

As he walks, he remembers he was having a conversation before getting interrupted, so he turns around to see the raven haired boy ushering Hinata towards the crowd. "I'll talk to him later" he thinks and sits down infront of his captain.

***

"Now that everyone's here" Daichi clears his throat and continues "let's welcome back Karasuno's libero".

Noya stands up proudly and yells "Hell yeah! I'm back!".

"Woooooo" Tanaka yells as an answer.

"Stop it you two" Enoshita says slapping the back of their heads. Everyone hears a small giggle and they turn around to watch the team's angel trying to stifle a laugh.

"Cute" they all think as their hearts melt.

"Well then, let's get back to practice" Daichi says after some short introductions. 

***

"Hinata!" Noya yells. He watches the ginger as he continues walking with Kageyama, not turning around to acknowledge the libero's call. "Huh?" he thinks. A pat to his back brings him back to reality. He turns around and sees his best friend giving him an understanding look.

"Sorry bro, I forgot to tell you but Hinata is... well" he trails off. 

Noya is getting impatient, he wants to know why the boy he just met is ignoring him, so he asks "He's what?". 

***

"What?!" he yells unconsciously. 

Noya turns around to look for the orange boy, who is laughing with Yamaguchi by the benches. He ignores the stares from his teammates (mostly Tsukishima's, who is getting irritated at the constant yelling) and looks at his best friend. "Is he really deaf? We were talking before, you know?" he's still shocked, he wasn't expecting his new friend to have such a disability. Especially the happiest boy he has ever met. 

"How..." he whispers.

"I know what you're gonna ask, but he says he's happy. He says that he should live in the present and forget about his past". 

Noya nods in understanding and says "I swear I will protect him from everyone and everything that wants to harm him. I won't let him be sad anymore" he pumps his chest and smiles proudly.

Like every other team member, Noya has quickly fallen for the small boy. In his eyes, not even his goddess (Kiyoko) can rival the boy's beauty and, to top it off, he's very pure and innocent. 

"Too innocent for his own good" he thinks.

*Time skip to the middle of practice*

"Woah" murmurs Noya. The libero hadn't been exposed to the first years' abilities yet and, now, he is perplexed. His fellow second years had told him about the "freak quick", but he wasn't expecting it to look like this.

"Amazing, right?" Suga says.

"How did you guys know they could do that?" answers a still shocked Noya. 

Suga laughs softly before saying "It all happened a week ago".


	13. The freak quick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 13 is up!  
> Please, please, please do write what you think about the chapters on the comments section, it helps me to improve and write other chapters.  
> Enjoy!~

*Flashback to a week ago*

"Okay guys we're starting with spiking drills. Get ready" Daichi says.   
A collective sigh can be heard throughout the gym, it's not that they don't enjoy spiking, but they all know how this will end.

"Boke Hinata Boke!" Kageyama shouts.

"Aw shit, here we go again" everyone else thinks. 

"Why can't you spike? Don't you want to be an ace?" he speaks again.

"Stop it Bakageyama. I don't know why but I can't spike your tosses, and how do you know it's MY fault? I can spike Suga-san's tosses without a problem!" Hinata shouts back. 

"I've already told you before, just trust me more!".

"And I've asked you how to do it, but you never answer!" the bickering continues and everyone starts to tense up.

"I don't care how you do it! I'll just make sure the ball goes to you!". 

Silence. Everyone turns their head to look at the ginger boy. They appreciate silence, but not right after an argument like that, and certainly not from the small sunshine who's always babbling about something. As their gazes fall on the orange haired boy, surprise and shock cloud their faces: they can see the clogs in Hinata's head turning slowly as an idea pops up in his mind. Soon, determination fills the smaller boy's eyes and he whips his head around towards the group of people. 

"Daichi-san" Hinata says, surprising everyone and making Daichi's eyes widen slightly.

"Y-yeah?" he says surprised.

"Can I try again?". 

Daichi stares at the younger boy in confusion and feels his determination. Hinata is serious and it's rare, so he feels obliged to agree.

"Sure, go on". Everyone watches on as the small boy moves towards his position.

His teammates gather near the sides of the court to get a proper view of the spiker's movements. 

"That scared me" whispers Yamaguchi.

"I know, right?" agrees Suga.

"He just went quiet all of a sudden" chirps in Kinoshita. A small glare from Daichi stops their conversation and urges them to put their focus back on Hinata's moves.

Hinata nods at Kageyama and he nods back. The ball is thrown at Kageyama so that he can set. Before the ball touches his fingertips, Kageyama feels a breeze of air and notices Hinata already making his jump. Without thinking twice, he sets the ball towards the jumping boy and waits for silence as the ball falls on the same side of the court. This time though, he hears it. The sound of a ball hitting hard against the wooden floor. He hopes for the ball to be on the other side of the net, he opens his eyes and he sees it: the ball is on the other side!

Kageyama whips his head and watches the ginger boy staring at his own hands "I hit it" he hears the boy whisper "I hit it!" he repeats louder than before. 

"How the hell did you do that?!" both boys turn around to a wide-mouthed Tanaka.

"Wow" is all Suga says, followed by an "Amazing" from Narita and a "What the-" from Tsukishima (accompanied by a "tsk" and a scowling face, of course). 

"Was it really that good?" questions Hinata.

"Hinata" says Takeda-sensei waving his hand slightly at the boy to catch his attention "Did you close your eyes?".

"Yeah?" answers the ginger confusedly.

"WHAAAT?!" shouts everyone.

"Why would you do that Boke?" adds Kageyama. 

Hinata turns around with a frown on his face "You told me to trust you, so I did. Stop shouting at me Baka" Hinata states. Everyone is shocked and freezed in place.

"Could you try that again?" asks Daichi.

***

"They've been spiking properly since Hinata started closing his eyes" Ennoshita says.

"Properly? That's so much more than properly. Hinata's so fast when he goes up to the net for a spike and Kageyama manages to toss the ball exactly to where Hinata's hand will hit!" Suga claims. 

"Tch. Freaks" whispers Tsukishima.

"Tsukki that's not nice" murmurs Yamaguchi.

"Urasai Yamaguchi" replies Tsukishima.

"Gomen Tsukki" giggles the shorter boy.

"Freak quick, huh?" thinks Suga (who has heard the whole exchange but didn't want to meddle in it) "That name suits this" he stiffles a laugh and walks closer to Daichi to engage in a conversation with him.

*End of flashback*


	14. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 14 is out!  
> *Warning*: small mention of panick attack and major bullying implied. If you are sensitive to any of these things, I wouldn't recommend reading the chapter. I'll make a short summary at the end (not at the beginning to avoid any spoilers to the other readers).  
> Remember to leave your comments down below!  
> Enjoy!~

"Oooohh! Kageyama look, I'm getting better!" Hinata smiles brightly after spiking one of the duo's so called 'freak quicks'. "If I keep this up I'll be able to become Karasuno's ace in no time!" he's so excited that he keeps on jumping everywhere, almost bumping into Yamaguchi and missing Tsukishima's scowl (as always, Tsukki is actually quite amused by the ginger's actions but still refuses to accept it). 

"Oi Boke! Stop jumping!" Kageyama rushes after the smaller boy but misses, tripping over a bag and falling straight into Hinata.

"Ngh" he starts to lift himself up using his forearms "Tsk, that hurt" he mumbles.

"Umm...Kageyama, could you get up?".

The raven haired boy shoots his eyes open, surprised by the proximity of the other person's voice. He looks up and finds himself staring straight into two honey pools that shine under the rays of sunlight. A blush creeps up his neck all the way to the tip of his ears when he realises who's under him. None other than the sunshine boy himself: Hinata Shōyō.

"Has the king fallen for the orange?" smirks Tsukishima. He's actually very jealous of Kageyama right now, although deep down he wishes he could be the one in that position with the ginger on the floor, he refuses to admit it. When the setter doesn't move immediately, the anger starts to build up in Tsukishima, but (for once) he's grateful for having such rowdy upperclassmen who rush to separate the two fallen boys.

"Omg Hinata! Are you okay?" Suga asks frantically. He's worried for the little sun, after watching the orange boy hit his head against the floor last week, he has been acting more protective towards him, trying to keep him away from more harm. 

"I'm fine, thanks Suga-san" and he smiles, melting everyone's hearts. 

"Thank god. Don't go running around like that or you'll hurt yourself next time" (sugamama mode activated) the frown on Suga's face deepens as he reprimands Hinata.

"Yes mum" Hinata says unconsciously.

As he realises what he has just said, he rushes to cover his mouth with his hands, eyes widening in surprise.

"I-i'm sorry S-suga-san! I didn't m-mean it!".

He can feel the heat rising to his face at a very fast speed, forcing his hands to move from his mouth to his cheeks in an attempt to hide his cherry-red face. "How can I be so stupid! I called him mum, I'm sure he's gonna get mad at me and won't want to talk to me anymore" Hinata thinks. His eyes water slightly: he doesn't want to be laughed at again.

You see, something people don't expect about the small ball of energy is that he was bullied for a very long time. As it was mentioned before, not being able to hear encouraged some of his previous classmates to make fun of him: they would make faces at him; cover their mouths when insulting him (so that Hinata wouldn't know what they were saying); grab his things and shove them around the school corridors; push him around; make fun of him for wanting to play a feminine sport like volleyball; and many more. 

Things like this are hard to forget and, although he's very happy now, he keeps on having those thoughts at the back of his head that force him to remember everything those classmates said and did. He questions his worth and often finds himself on the verge of tears but refusing to let them flow down his face, not wanting the others to see and laugh some more. He's scarred and he knows it. 

That's why he's scared of messing up in front of his teammates, his new family, because he doesn't want to lose them. He doesn't want them to laugh at him like the people from his past did. He just wants to enjoy his volleyball life. But, right now, he's very close to having a panic attack. He can't stop the thoughts and he can feel everyone's gaze on him, burning through his skin and poking holes at his body. His breathing accelerates and becomes slightly heavier.

"Breathe, breathe" he thinks to himself. Suddenly, his chin is lifted up and his eyes meet the familiar grey colour from his teammate's gaze. 

"It's fine. I don't mind if you call me mum" Suga smiles. 

"What?" Hinata thinks. His breathing steadies and he hugs the taller boy tightly "Thank you" he whispers.

The soft whisper and sudden hug take Suga by surprise. He's quick to react and wraps his arms around Hinata tightly, trying to reassure him. The hug is short, as Hinata breaks it rapidly to stare at his eyes. The sunshine boy smiles lovingly and Suga starts to melt. He returns the smile softly and helps the boy to get on his feet. 

"Don't worry next time, it's not a big deal" he giggles slightly and ruffles the shorter boy's unruly curls.

"Hinata!" Suga hears Noya yell as soon as they get back to practice. He directs an if-you-hurt-my-baby's-feelings-you're-dead stare before making sure the message is received and going on about his day.

Noya can feels the air freeze and shivers. His head turns around and finds Suga staring right at him "Eep! I get it, geez. I'm not gonna say anything mean about his slip up before" he thinks to himself. "Anyways" he shakes his head and turns towards Hinata "You said you wanna be Karasuno's ace, right?" The ginger boy nods and Noya continues "You'll have to beat our current ace then!".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short summary:  
> Kageyama bumps into Hinata and they fall to the floor (kageyama becomes a blushing mess and the rest are jealous). Suga helps Hinata and he calls him mum. He gets scared of what his teammates reactions will be and starts to think about the worst possible case scenarios. Suga calms him down and Noya tells Hinata that he'll have to beat the current ace if he wants to replace him.  
> Sorry if it's a crappy summary, I've tried to write it the best I can while avoiding sensitive contents.  
> Please do tell me if you prefer these types of chapters explained in a different way or somewhere else.  
> Hope you enjoyed!~


	15. Broken brooms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 15 is finally here!~  
> I've already got the next two or three chapters planned out (I'm going to assume that we all know who Hinata will meet next) but I'd still appreciate it if you left suggestions in the comments section~  
> Please enjoy the chapter and drop some kudos on the way hehe~

"You'll have to beat our current ace then!" these words echo through his mind in repeat, like a broken record waiting to be fixed.

"There's an ace?!" he says out loud. He's surprised, they have been practicing for over a week but Hinata had yet to hear about Karasuno's ace. His eyes widen slightly and fixate on Noya, waiting for the shorter boy's answer.

"Y-yeah" Hinata notices the change in his sempai's demeanor. Noya fidgets slightly and looks away unconsciously.

"Why is he nervous?" thinks Hinata "Is this subject making him uncomfortable?". 

Trying to act as normal as possible, Hinata takes a deep breath and plasters a smile on his lips, although it isn't a genuine smile it will work well enough for now. 

"Then I'll have to work harder!" he states loudly "I have to get better at my recieves though" he looks over at his upperclassman and pouts unconsciously. "Noya-senpai, would you mind teaching me? You're the best libero I know, I'm sure that if I'm able to learn a bit from you I'll improve greatly!" this time his smile is genuine, just like his words.

When the second year glances into Hinata's eyes, he can see the truthfulness and admiration in them, and he can't help but feel fulfilled. 

"He really does look up to me, huh?" he thinks and a smile (more like a grin) grows on his lips. 

"Shōyooo!!" He launches forwards and wraps his arms around the slightly taller boy, immediately replacing his negative feelings by those of happiness and warmth. Noya can feel the ginger boy relax in his embrace, making him relax too and encouraging his grip to tighten briefly around the boy's body. 

When he releases the boy, his face is flushed and eyes start to dart from the floor to the ceiling, to the now very interesting bench behind Hinata. "U-um" he starts. He gulps slowly, thinking about his actions carefully and realising that he had just hugged the very cute angel without warning him beforehand. "Sorry, I should've asked before throwing myself at you" he lets out an awkward laugh.

"It's fine, I love hugs. Especially if they're from my friends". 

Noya knows that Hinata isn't aware of what the ginger does to his heart whenever he praises or shows affection to him, just like right now. 

"Shōyō you're so cute" he mumbles without vocalising properly. 

"Um, sorry. Could you repeat that? I didn't catch the whole phrase" Hinata frowns. 

No way in hell is Noya repeating those words! He'd rather never speak again than tell the taller boy what he was mumbling about.

"It's nothing, I was just talking to myself" he lies.

***

Although it's already almost the end of practice, Hinata can't forget his upperclasman's expression when he mentioned the team's ace. He can't stop thinking about the way Noya's shoulders had dropped slightly, as if there was a big weight on him that couldn't be lifted up. 

"I should ask someone" he thinks and walks towards the storage room, where some of his teammates are putting the equipment away.

"This broken broom is dangerous, we should throw it away before someone hurts themselves" says a concerned Yamaguchi.

"NO!" Suga jumps beside him and grabs the broom from the very confused (and mildly scared) boy "It can still be fixed" he trails off. 

Hinata sends a concerned look towards the taller boy and turns to look for a certain pair of eyes that he was sure he had seen in the room just moments ago. When he catches a glimpse of Noya's coffe-coloued eyes, he freezes in place. The libero is looking at Suga too, but his signature smile and excitement are nowhere to be seen. Now, Hinata is quite sure that something is going on. 

As none of the boys in the storage room will be able to give him an answer, he heads towards the front doors, where he finds Daichi waiting for his boyfriend. 

"Daichi-san" Hinata makes his presence known to the captain. 

"Oh, Hinata" the brunette shifts his body so that he's facing the sunshine child completely "What's wrong, aren't you heading home?", a gentle smile forms on the captain's lips.

"Yeah, I am, but I wanted to talk to you before. If that's okay with you" Hinata answers.

***

"Everything alright?" asks a concerned Daichi as soon as they move towards a more private space. 

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry" Hinata tries to calm his captain "I just wanted to know if Suga-san and Noya-san are okay. They've been acting weirdly today and I'm worried" he laughs shyly. 

"Is it about the broom in the storage?" Daichi asks tiredly after remebering the small scene that had taken place in the room just afew moments ago.

The captain knows what's wrong, it's an issue that has been bothering him for too long but he can't seem to find a decent solution to fix it. Although the brunette doesn't want to worry the angel boy, he knows Hinata is only asking out of concern for his upperclassmen 's wellbeing, and who is he to deny such a pure and innocent request? 

"It's quite a long story, but you just need to know that they'll be fine as soon as our ace comes back" Daichi answers with doubt lacing his voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter.  
> Remember to leave any advice or suggestions below.  
> Hope you liked it and see you next time!~


	16. Meeting the ace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been recieving some advice on how to structure the dialogues so that it's easier for you guys to read (huge shout-out to OndoriNaramaki for helping me out <3). So I've decided to try it out and see how it works.  
> Surprisingly, it also makes it easier to write, so I'm gonna start using it from now on hehe.  
> Please do tell me what structure you prefer most, afterall, it's you guys who are reading the story~  
> All being said, enjoy the chapter and remember to drop some kudos and comments!~

"Asahi, someone's looking for you" his classmate says.

Asahi looks towards the door and gets confused when the only thing he sees is a bunch of his friends crowded around the classroom's entrance. The gentle giant gets up slowly and makes his way to the group of people.

"Excuse me" he says as he taps on the nearest person's shoulder "I need to get through, would you mind moving a little?".

In response to the very polite demand, the guy nods and moves away slightly, making enough space for the boy to walk out the class.

"Thanks" Asahi says with a smile.

As soon as he sets foot into the corridor, a flash of orange hair stops him in his tracks.

"I told you we wouldn't find him. There are too many people here, dumbass" a raven haired boy whispers to the shorter male infront of him.

"I'm not giving up yet! That nice guy from before said he was in the classroom. If he's not coming out, I'm going in!" answers the shorter boy enthusiastically.

"Don't be stupid, you'll have other chances to see him. Let's leave now, you're drawing in too much attention" scowls the taller one as he spares a glance to the teens around them.

Asahi watches on as both males start bickering. He hasn't been paying much attention to their words, he can't help his eyes from wandering to the smaller frame that is standing right before him.

"He's tiny" he thinks as his gaze moves onto the boy's hair. Asahi has never seen such a vibrant hair colour before. "It may be dyed" he reflects, which immediately makes him think "Is he a delinquent?!". 

As the giant male continues his staring, the bickering stops.

"What are you looking at?" asks a confused Hinata. 

Kageyama hadn't answered back when the sunshine boy called him "Bakageyama", which was very weird if we take into account how riled up the raven haired boy gets whenever he is called this. Noticing the lack of movement in Kageyama's lips, Hinata's eyes move to look at his eyes, watching as the setter's gaze intensifies with each passing second.

Now, Hinata finds himself looking behind him at a pair of surprised chocolate eyes. He notices as Kageyama steps slightly infront of him to block the larger male's view and cutting off Hinata's own line of vision.

"What's going on?" Hinata thinks. Now that two of his senses are rendered useless, he can't understand the situation he's in. He can't hear what the others are saying and he can't see what they are doing. Amazing, simply amazing.

"Why are you staring at him like that?" asks Kageyama suspiciously. He had positioned himself between the giant and the small human tangerine to prevent any eye contact and/or any other form of communication between them. As he's not sure of the larger male's intentions, he can't help it when his body moves on his own to shield the angel boy.

"S-sorry! It wasn't my intention to stare" the taller boy waves his hands around frantically, trying to prove his innocence. He clears his throat and opens his mouth to speak again before getting interrupted by a yell.

"What are you doing here Kageyama?!" Suga asks confused.

"Oh, Suga-san" Kageyama bows his head "Hinata wanted to meet someone and dragged me here to see if he could catch a glimpse of that person" he explains.

"Hinata's here?" asks Suga excitedly, completely missing the point.

Kageyama shuffles away slightly, finally giving Hinata a full view of what's going on. The shorter boy peeks his head around Kageyama's figure, this action resembling that of a puppy perking his ears up in confusion, and looks at the congregation of faces around him.

"Suga-san!" exclaims Hinata excitedly.

"Hinata!" Suga matches his enthusiasm with an equally excited yell.

The ginger male makes his way to Suga, who places his hand on the boy's hair and ruffles it gently.

"What are you doing here?" asks the silver haired boy.

"We're looking for the ace!" answers Hinata.

Asahi's head perks up at the mention of his volleyball position.

"Oh. You mean him?" Suga points an accusing finger at Asahi, making him flinch subtly.

Hinata's head whips around very quickly (too quickly for his own wellbeing) and his mouth falls open.

"You're Karasuno's ace?! That's so cool! You're so tall! How tall are you? I also wanna be an ace, so I'll beat you someday! Can you show me some of your tricks? I bet you're a super good player, right? Look kageyama, I found him!" Hinata starts to ramble.

A low chuckle leaves Suga's lips. He has never seen Asahi wear such an expression before: his face is flushed, his Adam's apple bobs up and down, his eyes are wide and his hands are shaking slightly. 

"He's fallen too" thinks Suga.

Both third years share a look and Asahi mouths "How does he do that?".

Suga shrugs and turns his attention towards the pair of first years who are bickering again. Suddenly, Hinata faces Asahi.

"I'm Hinata Shōyō, first year, nice to meet you" he bows.

"O-oh. I'm Asahi Azumane" he stutters back.

"Asahi-san" Hinata's eyes start to sparkle "When are you coming to practice with us?"


	17. The plan (1/2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 17 is up and going!~  
> The second part will be out tomorrow!  
> Before you start the reading, I wanted to thank you guys for showing so much support. It makes my day when I check on the story and I have some comments notifications. You guys are always so nice!~  
> Thanks for commenting, it shows that the people are actually enjoying the story~  
> Please do continue commenting and suggesting new ideas.  
> As always, enjoy!~

"When are you coming back to practice with us?"

With such a simple question, Hinata manages to make Asahi freeze in place.   
"Uh oh" he thinks. Asahi can feel Suga's stare beside him, it's so intense that the giant can almost feel the holes being burnt in the back of his head. Avoiding the silver haired boy's gaze, he manages to concentrate on the small ball of sunshine who is smiling expectantly at him.

"U-um, sorry Hinata" he starts saying and looks back up at the ginger's face, noticing how his smile fades away and how a small frown starts to make his way across his forehead. He gulps loudly and continues "I'm not going back to play, sorry". His face is burning from embarrassment, so he bows quickly and turns away from the group of people, walking towards his seat inside the classroom and preparing the material for his first class.

"W-what?" Hinata whispers. He's very aware of the way the word 'shock' is plastered on his face, but he can't help it. He can't believe his eyes, is Karasuno's ace no longer part of the team?! 

"Nonono, that's stupid. I probably read it wrong" he shakes his head swiftly and turns around to face Suga. "Suga-san, what did he say? I think I might have misunderstood something" he laughs awkwardly and prays silently for the desired answer.

"He's not playing" Suga shakes his head and stares daggers at the boy inside the classroom, who visibly flinches when he feels the silver haired male's glare on him. Suga then shifts himself slightly to look at the smaller boy. To his surprise, Hinata isn't sulking or pouting. Instead of that, his hand is resting on his chin and his eyes are focused on something that no one else can see.

"We should leave" Kageyama (I bet you all forgot he was here too...) says as he pats Hinata's shoulder. The later jumps in surprise and answers with a simple nod when the setter repeats himself. They both turn round to give Suga one last wave before heading off to their class.

*Timeskip to the start of afternoon practice*

Kageyama spares some glances Hinata's way. The shorter boy has been considerably more quiet since their encounter with the ace this morning, and he knows nothing good is gonna come out of this situation. Not wanting to delay the inevitable any further, ha grabs Hinata's shoulders and spins him around so that they're face to face with each other.

"What are you thinking about? You're being too quiet" he asks. The smaller boy tenses slightly.

"I wanna bring the ace back!" Hinata answers with determination. He knows it won't be easy, especially taking into account how little they've known each other for, but it's definitely worth a try.

"Oh? And how exactly do you plan to do this?" Kageyama feels a smirk threatening to show on his lips (the smaller boy's just too cute to handle).

"I'll start by collecting some info on the situation. I need to know why he left to encourage him to come back" he spins on his heels and speeds off towards the gym, Kageyama trying to catch up to him.

"Daichi-san!" Hinata yells as he barges into the changing room. "I need to ask you something" he smiles and trots towards his captain.

A long sigh escapes the brunette's lips before asking "What is it Hinata?". He's tired and wants to have a silent practice, but he knows that's not feasible.

"Could you tell me why Asahi-san left the team?" 

Daichi is caught off guard, he wasn't expecting such a question. "Sure. Let's wait until the end of practice though. I don't want us being late".

*Timeskip to the end of practice*

After being told everything, Hinata sympathises with the older male. He understands his feelings perfectly: he was shut out by the blockers too.  
"I know exactly what to do to fix this" a small smile appears on his pinkish lips "I just hope it works well enough to encourage him to come back".


	18. The plan (2/2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 18!~  
> Phew this one is longer than the other ones, hope you don't mind!  
> Enjoy it!~

"Are you sure about this?" Kageyama stares straight into Hinata's eyes "If something goes wrong, we could get suspended for a week. And that means no volleyball for A WHOLE WEEK". 

He's worried. Kageyama doesn't know much about Hinata and he certainly doesn't know that the ginger boy is quite cheeky but also very emotionally intelligent. 

Hinata has learnt to read people's actions and to understand what they're feeling by sparing them a few glances, so he's confident in his plan. He knows exactly what to say and what to do to make this work, but he needs Kageyama's help and, right now, the taller boy's determination is wavering.  
"I know Bakageyama" he stares back at Kageyama, a small smile playing on his lips "but I have it all planned out". He releases a small giggle and points at his own head, letting Kageyama know that the plan is infallible.

*Flashback to that morning*

"Kageyama!" Hinata exclaims as he catches a glimpse of the taller boy (who is making his way to their morning practice). As soon as he reaches the boy, he looks him in the eyes, smiles and says "I need your help".

"No. No, no, no and no" Kageyama shakes his head.

"Aw come on! I promise it'll be okay" Hinata skips around him as he walks out of their changing room. "If something goes wrong, I'll take the full blame. You just need to help me slip these into their bags, pleeeaase".

Kageyama stops walking and turns around to face the ginger boy. He knows he can't refuse the small angel when he pouts and begs like that, so he makes up his mind, sighs and says "If something goes wrong, you're buying me milk for a whole week". 

***

Suga walks over to the resting area, looking for his water bottle. 

"Here you go Suga" Kiyoko smiles softly at him before glaring cheekily at him and smirking subtly. 

"What's this?" asks Suga as he notices a small piece of paper attached to the bottle. He looks up to ask Kiyoko but she's long gone, leaving him in a very confused state. Looking back at the small piece of paper that sits on his hand, he gulps and sits on a bench "Let's see what it says" he thinks.

~ Hi Suga-san! ~  
Would you mind meeting up with me at the gym? Don't worry, it's not a love confession (I'd never plan on breaking captain and you up hehe). See you there right before afternoon practice!   
Hinata <3

Suga's face looks like a tomato. After reading the letter only two questions float through his mind: "What does Hinata need to ask me so secretly?" and "How on earth does he know we're dating?!"

***

As soon as morning practice ends, Noya rushes to change upstairs. He has to get to class before his teacher because he forgot to do his homework yesterday night, and he can't afford to be penalised. So he needs to be there soon enough to have time to copy off of someone else's paper (please don't copy his actions!).

The moment he sets foot out of the changing room, he bumps into something... or more like someone.

"Gah-!" he exclaims. "Sorry I wasn't looking, are you okay?" he lifts up his head and meets Kageyama's gaze.

Kageyama huffs and nods in agreement before slipping a piece of paper in the shorter male's pocket. He stands up, pats the dust off of his trousers and walks away as if nothing has happened.

Noya stares at the boy weirdly. "Okay?" he thinks and rushes downstairs to head to class.

Once in class, Noya thanks his classmate as he returns the original copy of the assignment's answers and sits back down on his chair. He slides his hands into his pockets and feels something in one of them. Not remembering having something in his pockets, he sits up properly and pulls the small paper out. It reads:

Nishinoya-senpai!   
I want to talk to you privately about something. It's nothing serious, so don't worry. Meet me at the gym before practice starts.  
~I'll be waiting for you!~   
Hinata <3

"Could this be... A LOVE CONFESSION?!" Noya thinks excitedly. He crunches up the paper and shoves it back into his pocket, already thinking about the many possible outcomes of the supposed "love confession".

*Back to the present*

The last part of the plan was set, they only had to carry it out properly.

"He's coming" Kageyama whispers at Hinata.

With a curt nod, Hinata stands up and gets into position. The moment he sees Asahi walking towards the school gates, he rushes up to him and gets into character.

"A-ASAHI-SAN! HELP!" this sudden outburst of sound makes Asahi whip his head towards the boy, eyes filling with panick as he registers Hinata's actions.

Hinata is a born actor, so when he thought out the plan, he knew he had to be the one to carry out this part. 

He's breathing quickly, running and staggering along the way, his eyes are watering and he is conveying a clear fear through his facial expressions. Perfection at its finest.

"HELP! Kageyama'sfallenonhislegandhecan'tgetupbuthe'sveryheavyandican'tcarryhimtotheinfirmaryi-" he gets cut off by Asahi's strong grip on his shoulders.

"Hinata calm down and speak slower, I don't understand what you're saying".

"Kageyama has fallen and is hurt. I can't take him to the infirmary. Help" he breathes out.

Poor, innocent Asahi rushes towards the storage room in the gym as soon as Hinata lets him know of Kageyama's location. He's worried for the boy (as he would be for anyone really).

"I'm sorry Asahi-san" thinks Hinata.

Asahi steps into the storage room and looks around, expecting to find the injured boy laying on the floor. But then, the doors close behind him and he's left inside the room, all locked up by himself.

"Hinata?" he asks worriedly "The door is stuck, can you try and open it from the outside?".

"Asahi-san the door's not opening, I'll go grab some help" and Hinata runs off with Kageyama (who had helped him lock the door and was translating what Asahi was saying to the smaller boy).

"One down, two more to go" Hinata whispers "Now all that's left to do is wait and watch".

Soon enough, a silver haired boy appears infront of the gym doors. He looks around and walks inside, thinking that he'll wait for the ginger to arrive while sitting on one of the benches.

Not long after, the gym doors open again and in comes a small boy. But to Suga's surprise, it's not the boy he's looking for.

"What are you doing here?" Noya asks.

"I could ask you the same question" Suga replies.

"Hinata told me to come here" Noya shows the small piece of paper.

"Same" Suga pulls a similar paper from his pocket.

They look at each other in confusion and the doors to the gym close behind them with a loud "clank", indicating that the doors are locked.

"Hello? Hinata are you back?" someone says from the storage room.


	19. Fixing broken pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 19!!  
> I changed the layout again! Sorry if it gets confusing with the constant changing, but I'm still looking for ways to make the story easier to read. So bear with me for a while!~  
> Hope it's not too bothersome!  
> As always, enjoy the chapter and remember to leave your comments down below!~

"A-Asahi?" Suga blurts out. To be honest, the last thing he was expecting was to find his 'ex' teammate locked up in the storage room. He looks over to Nishinoya and gives him a "what's going on?" look.

Noya shrugs his shoulders and starts to walk towards the doors.

"Asahi?" he asks.

"Noya?" the giant answers "What are you doing here?".

"What do you mean what I'M doing here? I still have volleyball club activities, but what about you?" Noya says a bit irritated.

"I-i'm locked" whispers Asahi. The gentle giant is... well, gentle, so Noya's irritated tone has him feeling upset immediately.

"How on earth did you get locked in there?" Suga asks from behind the shorter male "You have to lock it from outside you know?".

"Huh? Suga? Why are you here too?" Asahi is confused and surprised, but he decides to answer Suga's question before the silver haired male can answer his. "Um, Hinata told me that someone was hurt and-" he realises something "Oh no... Is the boy okay?!".

Suga sighs and Noya looks around frantically, searching for an injured person inside the gym. A tap on the shorter male's shoulder makes him turn around.

"Stop looking, there's no injured boy in here" Suga states. As soon as Asahi had told them about Hinata luring him into the gym, he had understood what had happened. "Dear lord Hinata. What are you planning?" he thinks.

"What do you mean? No one's hurt?" Asahi sighs "That's a relief". They all pause for a moment, Suga and Noya giving the giant a moment for the past events to set in. "Wait" he says, finally realising that something's wrong "Why did Hinata lie to me?" (good job Asahi).

* * *

As they manage to get Jesus's lookalike out of the storage room, an awkward silence sets in and the air becomes very thick.

"Why are you not playing anymore?" Noya blurts out suddenly.

Both boys turn to look at him, surprised by the libero's outburst. Asahi avoids Noya's stare and turns his head slightly to face the wall.

"Answer me Asahi! Why did you leave?! Do you think you're the only one who feels guilty? Do you think I don't blame myself too? Why are you so selfish?!".

"Noya!" shouts Suga.

"Noya nothing! You know I'm right and I know you feel the same way as me, so let him explain himself. I wanna know what he's got to say!" Noya argues back.

"Stop it! You know exactly why I left! Why would I stay? Karasuno doesn't need an ace that can't manage to get a single point in! Karasuno doesn't need an ace that gets blocked everytime he tries to spike. So stop it" Asahi's voice quavers as it starts to become quieter and quieter the more he speaks, guilt settling in him.

This time, it's Suga that bursts out "Are you stupid or what?!" this takes the other two boys by surprise. "Why would you think we don't need you? You are Karasuno's fucking ace, you idiot! We need our ace! We need you. We need you Asahi". 

Suga is on the verge of tears, he has been trying to hold his emotions inside for too long and it's hurting him. Drop by drop, the cup had been filling with water and it's finally spilling over the edge, he lets all of the sadness out in the form of silent tears.

"It's not even your fault -hic-, what kind of setter am I when my -hic- spiker doesn't ask for a toss? How am I supposed to toss if my tosses aren't -hic- good enough?" his hands try to dry some of the tears off of his face, but they just keep on coming and he can't stop them. "I'm so sorry for not being dependable enough. I'm sorry for making you take all the guilt and all the pressure. I'm sorry for not sharing the burden with you. I'm sorry for-".

"No! It's not your fault" Noya says quietly " I should've been able to pick up those spikes, but I couldn't. How can you say you're a bad setter or a bad ace when I can't do my job as a libero? And why didn't you blame me at all?! Why did you keep it all to yourself when it wasn't even your fault?!" a stray tear finds its way down Noya's cheek, but he turns his head around quickly and uses his sleeve to dry it off before the others can see it.

***

At the other side of the gym's doors, a group of volleyball players are sitting on the ground, listening intently at the conversation going on inside.

"What are they saying now?" Hinata asks for the hundredth time. Although he knew his plan to bring them all together would work, he doesn't know how each of them will react to this situation. He just hopes they can be friends again.

"Shhh I'm trying to listen boke" says Kageyama. He's currently sitting beside the door, one ear pressed against it and his face facing the ginger boy, so that he can read his lips whenever he's got something to say.

"It sounds like soemone's crying" pronounces Kageyama unworriedly. 

This statement makes Hinata panic. He turns his head towards the people around him, trying to get an explanation from them.

"It's fine Hinata. They're letting their emotions out" Daichi tells Hinata. He knows this will help the team, but his body is telling him to rush inside and hug his crying boyfriend tightly. "He's fine" he repeats to himself.

* * *

After some time, the noise dies out and the people outside start to worry.

"What's wrong? Why are you making that face?" Hinata asks Kageyama.

"I can't hear them anymore. Maybe they-".

The doors swing open, the three boys who were inside now standing at the entrance with puffy eyes and tear stains on their cheeks. The sudden movement of the doors has caught the rest of the team unprepared, making most of the boys (who were leaning on them) fall right infront of Suga's feet.

As they recover from the fall, they stand up quickly and step to the side, letting the other three boys walk outside.

Hinata stands behind Kageyama, fearing the boys' reactions when he came into sight. He is conscious of the problems he has created for his team, but he knows it is for the best.

"Hinata" a hand reaches up to him and drags him away from behind his teammate. Hinata jumps visibly at the sudden touch and prepares himself for a scolding session, closing his eyes tight and shrinking a little. To his surprise, the hand pulls him into a tight hug and he feels himself relax instantly.

"Thank you" whispers Suga as he looks into Hinata's eyes. He plants a soft kiss on the ginger's head and wraps his arms around him again. The smaller boy starts to melt into the warmth, purring softly when a hand rubs his hair. 

"You're welcome".


	20. Practice match

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aayyee!~  
> I can't believe this is already chapter 20!  
> As always, I hope you enjoy the story and keep reading it!  
> Please leave your comments down below and drop some kudos too!~

A few days have passed since the whole team got back together. During this period of time, Asahi has discovered that the team's angel is deaf and that he is to be protected at all costs. He has also been exposed to their first years' otherworldly physical abilities, earning from him a few "Wow"s and "That's crazy"s.

And now, the whole team is in the middle of their morning practice when the gym's doors fly open.

"We've got a practice match!" Takeda rushes into the gym, tripping over the small step and falling face first onto the floor.

"Takeda-sensei!" Daichi hurries beside him to help him up.

"I'm fine, I'm fine" he brushes the captain off gently, getting on his feet and looking at his team triumphantly. "We've got a practice match against Seijoh!".

"What?!"

"Really?!"

"How?!"

Amused cries can be heard throughout the gym. The boys are too excited about the news to notice the confused ginger staring at them.

"U-umm" Hinata tries to catch someone's attention repeatedly, but his soft voice gets drowned out by Tanaka and Noya's screaming.

"HELL YEAH! We're gonna show them who Karasuno is!" both boys keep on shouting, making each other more and more excited the more they shout.

"Kageyama" Hinata calls out. No reaction. "Yams" he tries again. No reaction.

"STOP YELLING YOU TWO!" Daichi's voice bounces off the gym's walls, shutting both troublemakers instantaneously. Everything turns silent until-

"PLEASE SOMEONE ANSWER ME!" Hinata finally bursts out. Everyone is left speechless. It's the first time their sunshine child is shouting like this, and they were certainly not prepared for it. Noticing everyone's stares, Hinata blushes in embarrassment and stares at the ground.

"Hinata!" Suga lets out a surprised yell, he certainly wasn't expecting Hinata (of all people) to shout like that, especially not with that soft, melodic voice of his. He walks up to Hinata and lifts his head up gently, making sure that their eyes meet. "What's wrong? Why were you shouting like that?".

Hinata's eyes tear up slightly, he didn't want to shout like that, but it had been the only way he had thought off that would attract someone's attention. With his teammates' stares on him, Hinata just wants to dig a hole and bury himself in it. 

"I-i'm sorry S-suga-san" he frowns slightly and looks up to meet the silver haired boy's gaze. "Everyone was speaking and jumping around and I didn't know why. You all looked very happy but I didn't understand the reason, so I just wanted someone to tell me". At this point, tears are threatening to fall from his honey coloured eyes, which are now filled with embarrassment and frustration.

"Hey, hey. It's fine. We're not mad at you, you just surprised us with that yell" he wraps his arms softly around the smaller boy before whipping his head around to stare coldly at Tanaka and Noya. "Apologize to him. You are the reason he had to use his angelic voice to shout like that".

"Y-yes" they both stutter out. Suga can be really scary when mad, and they do feel a bit guilty for forcing their precious underclassman to yell. They walk up to Hinata and tap him on his shoulder. The ginger lifts his head up from Suga's chest and stares into the boys' eyes.

"We're sorry Hinata" starts Noya.

"We shouldn't have shouted like that" finishes off Tanaka.

Hinata separates himself from Suga and waves his hands around desperately "Nonono, it's not your fault. I shouldn't have shouted at you guys". He looks at the boy's infront of him, bows and sends them a very wide smile.

"Shōyooo" they say in unison, jumping forwards to trap the small boy into a warm hug. The rest of the team watches on, small smiles playing on their lips as they react to the heartwarming sight infront of them.

"Takeda-sensei! Your nose is bleeding!" cries out Yamaguchi. (Just to make it clear, he's bleeding because of the faceplant from before!).

***

"REALLY?!" now that Hinata knows about the practice match, he can't stay still. He keeps smiling and giggling at himself from time to time, he's the embodiment of the word happy. The rest of the team looks at him fondly, taking in his small gestures of joy and smiling whenever he turns around to look at them.

"They do have a small request though" Takeda catches their attention (Suga taps Hinata's shoulder to make him face their teacher). "They want Kageyama to be our main setter".

"HUUHH?!" they all say in unison. 

As always, Tanaka and Nishinoya start to spout nonsense about having to "Teach those bastards a lesson", which only earns them a slap to the back of their heads and a "Can't you stop being stupid for once?" from a very tired Ennoshita.

"Come to think of it, most of Kitagawa Daiichi's volleyball players end up in Seijoh" states Yamaguchi "Which means that they probably know Kageyama".

Everyone looks at the raven haired boy, who can only feel guilty for having to take his upperclasman's place in this match, and very concerned about Yamaguchi's comment. Why were his past teammates asking for him to play? To laugh at him? Or to criticize him?

"Are you okay Suga-san?" whispers Hinata. 

Suga looks at the smaller boy and notices the worry in his eyes. He smiles gently, pats his hair and says "I'm not backing down, I'm only doing this to show them that Kageyama has changed. He's no longer 'the king of the court' and he's able to play with others without a problem". Seeing the unconvinced look in Hinata's eyes, he lets out a sigh and admits "Of course it bothers me a bit, but I actually think that this will also help the team. He's obviously a very talented player, and our gameplay will improve largely with him on our side".

"If you say so" mutters Hinata before joining the rest of the team's conversation.

***

On their way home, Kageyama walks by Suga's side. He's got a scowl on his face, and Suga can see it perfectly.

"Stop thinking about it" Suga says "You're not taking my place yet, I'm gonna fight 'til the end!" he ends with a bright smile and gives the taller boy a hard pat on the back. Kageyama spares him a sad glance, enticing Suga to say "Don't you dare start pitying me or I'll have no other choice but to end you" with a devilish grin, he strides off, leaving a slightly scared Kageyama staring at his back.


	21. Memories

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 21!  
> This chapter is a bit more angsty (sorry not sorry).  
> If you are sensible to swearing, offensive language and/or panic attacks, I suggest you skip straight to the notes at the end to read a short summary.  
> Otherwise, enjoy and remember to leave your comments down below!~

"Shōyo it's time to-" Natsu walks into her brother's room to wake him up but is pleasantly surprised by what she sees: the room is tidy; the bed is empty and neatly made; the clothes are carefully folded; and a soft, cool breeze is flowing in through the open window.

She hears the water running and approaches he bathroom door "Onii-chan?" she asks and opens the door to peek inside, already knowing that her brother isn't showering and is just brushing his teeth. "Wow" she whispers to herself. She had been surprised when she came into the room, but looking at her already dressed and prepared brother, has her jaw hanging open.

Shōyo feels a stare being directed at him and turns around towards the door, jumping at the presence of someone else in his bathroom. He spits in the sink, rinses himself hurriedly and says "Natsu! I could've been showering!" his face flushes a bit in embarrassment and his eyes widen noticeably.

"I knew you weren't showering, the tap water sounds much softer" she rolls her eyes at her brother, giggles and asks "On another note, why are you already prepared? Is something going on today?".

"Oh! I've got a practice match, so I have to be there earlier than normal" Shōyō's signature smile appears on his face. "I was so excited that I could barely sleep last night" he admits bashfully.

"Well then, you better get yourself out there soon if you don't wanna be late" Natsu warns her brother. And they both head downstairs to eat their breakfast.

***

"Oh no, I'm getting nervous" Hinata whispers to himself. He's conscious of how nervous he gets whenever something important comes up, and he definitely knows that if he doesn't calm down the consequences will be devastating.

He starts to remember about his first ever match:

"Oi! Are you okay?" his teammate asks him "You're looking really pale, do you wanna sit down?"

Hinata stares into his eyes and answers "I'm fine, I just need to use the toilet" and, with that, he stumbles slightly towards the bathrooms.

He can feel the bile climbing up his throat, so he makes a run for the nearest stall, hoping for it to be empty. The ginger looks at the lock and sees that it's free, he rushes inside, kneels to the ground and empties his stomach's contents into the bathroom bowl. "Ack-" he coughs various times before attempting to stand up. The moment his knees leave the ground, his vision blurs and his legs weaken, making him fall down onto his knees yet again. "It's okay, I just need to breathe" he whispers.

Some minutes later, he opens his eyes and attempts to stand up again. He reaches for the door's handle to steady himself and slowly puts all of his weight on both of his legs. 

Hinata walks outside and washes his face. He stares at his reflection, breathes in slowly and turns around to leave when his face hits something.

"Ah! S-sorry I wasn't looking where I was going!" he bows quickly and lifts his head up to find two taller boys in the Kitagawa Daiichi uniform.

"You should look where you are going kid" glares one of them.

"Who lets their kid run around like that" huffs the other.

"Hey! I'm not a kid, I'm a middle school student!" Hinata says back at them, his legs shaking unconsciously under him.

"Hahahaha!" laughs the first boy "There's no way you are in middle school, you look like you should still be learning how to read!" Both boys laugh at this comment and Hinata steps back against the wall.

He can feel his breath accelerating the more he looks at their laughing faces.

"Hey, have you noticed? He kept on staring at your lips when you were talking. I bet he's a faggot" mocks the second boy.

"N-no I'm deaf, so I have to read your lips to know what you're saying" Hinata manages to stutter out.

The boys look at each other and share a laugh. "So he's a deaf faggot!" mocks one of them.

"Then how does the little guy feel when I do this?" the second boy asks as he covers his mouth.

"N-no" whispers Hinata. His breathing is all over the place, he can feel his heart beating loudly against his chest and the air becomes thicker. Suddenly, it's difficult to breathe. 

"Hahahaha look at him" the other boy cackles and he covers his mouth too.

At this point, Hinata isn't focusing, he feels trapped and he can't get their laughs (the image of them covering their mouths) out of his head.

When he feels like he's about to pass out, a hand appears on his shoulder and another under his chin. His face is lifted upwards and his honey eyes meet a pair of chocolate coloured eyes that are staring back at him.

He can see the person's lips moving, but his vision is blurry and he can't manage to understand what he's saying. A hand falls on his head while the other rests on his back. The hand on his head draws him close to the person's body and the one on his back starts rubbing soothing circles.

Some minutes later, Hinata is finally breathing steadily. His large honey eyes search those beautifully deep chocolate eyes from before. When their gazes meet, Hinata opens his mouth and says "Thank you".

"You're welcome" a smile spreads on the other boy's face and Hinata can finally soak in the boy's features. He's got large and expressive eyes the colour of hot chocolate; an elegantly straight nose; soft looking lips; and smooth, wavy, brown hair the same colour as his eyes. A very attractive guy indeed.

"I'm Hinata Shōyō, nice to meet you. And thanks for helping me out" he sends a wide smile in the boy's direction.

"My name's-"

Before Hinata can continue his walk down memory lane, he reaches the school's gates.

"Hinata! Come on we're leaving soon" waves a very excited Nishinoya.

"Coming!" yells back Hinata. He goes up to the bike rack, chains his bike and skips happily towards the bus. 

"Okay everyone!" Daichi grabs everyone's attention (Kageyama, who's sitting beside Hinata, taps him softly to make him look towards their captain) "Please just act like well-behaved teenagers for once" he stares at two second years in particular.

Tanaka and Noya shrink slightly under Daichi's stern gaze and slowly nod their head, already knowing that they'll end up causing trouble either ways.

"Okay then, let's go!" Daichi ends. The bus starts moving and the boys slowly drift off into sleep.

"I'll just sleep for a while and relax. Let's forget about the past" Hinata thinks to himself as sleep takes over his consciousness.

"I hope I can see him again, though" and he drifts into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short summary:  
> Shouyo wakes up early to get prepared for the practice match. As he makes his way to school, he starts to feel nervous and remembers his very first match.  
> He had been feeling nauseous and overall nervous, so he made a quick trip to the bathroom. As he walks out, he bumps into some Kitagawa Daiichi students who pick on him.  
> Shouyo starts having a small panic attack but someone (a very handsome guy) helps him overcome it.  
> He arrives to the school before remembering the rest and falls asleep on the bus, hoping to meet his saviour.


	22. Oikawa-san

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 22 is here!!  
> Enjoy it and remember to leave your comments down below!~  
> Drop some kudos too ;)

"-nata" a soft voice whispers while a hand runs its fingers through his soft, unruly curls.

A raspy, almost inaudible, sigh escapes the sleeping ginger's lips. He unconsciously leans into the touch and drifts into unconsciousness again.

Giggling softly at the puppy-like actions of the resting boy, the voice repeats "Hinata". This time, his hand moves to the smaller boy's shoulder and shakes him softly.

"Nngh-" the once closed eyes open slowly to reveal his sweet and luminous, honey-coloured eyes.

The other person's breath hitches at the sight. He's never witnessed such beautiful moment and his heart is definitely proving it by beating wildly against his chest. "Perfect" he whispers.

"Yams?" Hinata's slightly breathy voice comes out as a soft whisper. "Are we already there?" he sits up slowly and yawns delicately, almost in a cat-like way, that has Yamaguchi blushing uncontrollably.

"Y-yes" he nods nervously. 

His answer manages to wake Hinata up completely, the shorter boy jumping out of his seat and bolting through the bus's door. Once outside, Hinata looks around curiously, he's very excited too, so he keeps on skipping around with a wide smile on his face.

"I'm feeling light! I'm jumping even higher now!" with this thought in mind he skips some more before stopping abruptly, drawing his teammates' stares to him. He turns around quickly and widens his eyes in realization: he's forgotten his bag on the bus!

Nothing to worry about really, Hinata runs to the bus and grabs his bag before jumping out swiftly and making his way to his team, who are looking at him amused (some of them giggling at the ginger's clutziness).

***

As Karasuno gathers up to listen to their captain's instructions, Hinata's gaze wanders off into the distance, falling on a pair of doors. He knows where those doors lead, that's why he can't wait to walk through them. On the other hand, his body isn't as excited as him, and he starts to feel sick again.

"Oi boke! Are you okay?" Kageyama taps Hinata's shoulder and watches as the boy turns his head to stare into his eyes. "Are you okay?" he repeats.

"Y-yeah!" Hinata answers. Kageyama doesn't feel very convinced, but he chooses to ignore the uneasy feeling and turns towards his captain again. The ginger boy follows his actions and manages to catch the last part of their captain's speech.

"Please behave yourselves. This isn't our school and we could get kicked out" he sighs, smiles and finishes it off with "Let's do our best and take a win home!" 

"Yeaahhh!!" the Karasuno players yell back and finally start to make their way to the gym.

***

Iwaizumi looks at his team "I'm sure we'll take an easy win today" he thinks "Still, I'd better warn them not to let their guards down". As soon as those words take a place in his mind, the doors to the gym pry open.

"Okay everyone, gather up!" he calls the team. Normally, he would let the team captain call the boys over to give them their usual speech, but seeing that he isn't here, he has assumed the role for himself. "Remember, don't underestimate them, we don't know what they're capable of" he ends his speech and looks at the faces in front of him, making sure that they've all understood his words.

"Oh come on. They're the fallen crows. How good can they be?" Kindaichi mutters under his breath, unaware of a certain blond's proximity.

"Arara" Tsukki snickers maliciously as he directs a glare towards the turnip haired boy "Don't you know why a group of crows is called a murder?" he smirks. 

Kindaichi turns around to look at him and shivers at the sight: several of the Karasuno players are staring at them intently, all of them dressed in their black uniform (which only adds to their eerie aura). He gulps loudly and shifts his body to face them fully. But before he can say anything, a strong, loud cough seems to break the other team's atmosphere completely. 

The Karasuno boys stiffen and start to walk towards their side of the gym. "Sorry about them" bows Daichi and he walks off, but not before sending the Aoba Johsai members a meaningful glare.

"Creepy" whispers Kunimi almost inaudibly. The members standing near him nod in agreement as they go back to stretching.

Once they've stretched, Iwaizumi's gaze falls on a small boy on the other side of the gym. He notices his bright, orange hair and wide, honey eyes and immediately feels himself staring at him. He looks on as the small guy bounces around with energy (although it's actually nervousness), enticing the ace's lips to curl up slightly too. The sound of squeaking shoes against the ground wakes him up from this trance and he walks towards the net, getting ready to start the match's formalities.

***

When the game is nearing its end, Iwaizumi and his team have already been exposed to Karasuno's sunshine child. They were very surprised by the smaller boy's physical abilities (although they have to admit that he is quite lacking in most of the technical skills) and angel-like personality, but when he had smiled for the first time, the whole team had malfunctioned for a few seconds. Just how has Karasuno gotten ahold of someone as pure and innocent as him?

Even though Hinata has messed up here and there, he has been able to keep his nerves on check, allowing him to perform only slightly worse than normally. Now that the match is reaching its end, he can feel the tension building up, he can't mess up anymore if he wants his team to win. He's so engrossed in his thinking, that he doesn't realise it's his turn to serve next.

When he moves to the serving line, he catches a glimpse of one of the other team's members looking at him. As soon as their eyes meet, the other boy turns around and whispers something to the boy beside him, covering his mouth in the process. 

You see, Hinata doesn't mind people whispering, he knows people do it constantly and they tend to cover their mouths instinctively when they do so. This doesn't bother him at all, he even does that sometimes too! But when the whispering players turn to look at him again, they are giggling and, that, sends Hinata into a panicked state. He can't help but overthink about what they could be saying. Were they laughing at him? Had he done something wrong? 

His mind is so full of past events and bad memories that he forgets to keep an eye on the referee. We all know that Hinata is deaf, which means that he can't hear the whistle that indicates that he has to serve, so he usually looks at the referee until he sees him blowing it. This time though, he has forgotten. So he misses the time period in which he can serve and ends up recieving some glares from his teammates (cough Kageyama and Tsukishima cough).

Hinata is definitely not feeling great now. As the match goes on, he has served a ball to Kageyama's head and messed up his timing during multiple spikes. Noticing the ginger's distress, Suga advices Takeda to switch players. 

"Hey, are you okay?" Suga asks Hinata when he sits down on a bench. 

"I-i'm sorry. I've kept on messing up things I even forgot to look at the referee! I'm such a mess, I'm so sorry" Hinata looks like he's about to cry, so Suga hugs him and reassures him that everything's ok.

During a water break, Kageyama walks up to Hinata and, in his own unique way, he tries to calm him down. Surprisingly, it works quite well and Hinata is back to being the energetic ball of sunshine that he always is.

Suddenly, the gym doors are swung open and in comes a tall brunette, walking confidently towards the opposite team's side of the court.

"Oikawa-san!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oop-  
> The grand king has appeared!  
> What will happen next?  
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!~  
> Leave your suggestions and comments down below!~  
> See you next time!


	23. Oikawa-san 2/2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pheeww!~ chapter 23 is already here!  
> There's not much to say, so just enjoy it!~  
> Remember to leave your comments down below and to show some support (by giving kudos)!~

"Oikawa-san!"

All of the players turn to look at the smiling ginger in confusion before turning again to stare at the brunette that has just made his way into the gym.

Oikawa perks up at the sound of that voice. It's been a whole year since he last heard that melodic sound, but he never forgot. He can still remember the tone of the voice clearly, as if he had heard it that same morning and, obviously, he can remember the face that accompanies that voice perfectly: none other than Hinata Shōyō's angelic face.

The brunette's eyes widen in surprise as he sees a small ginger running up to him. Feeling a small pang in his chest, he smiles widely and spreads his arms, ready to take the impact.

"Shōyooo!" he yells back. Both boys clash softly and a giggle escapes Hinata's lips. Oikawa holds onto the smaller boy tightly, spinning him around in circles, before placing him down softly on the ground. The smaller boy (still in Oikawa's grip) returns the tight hug by pressing himself into the taller boy's chest, sighing softly and inhaling the once forgotten scent. 

Oikawa can feel his heart racing and a blush is creeping up his neck, slowly staining his cheeks a light shade of red. Reluctantly, he separates himself from the ginger and asks "How have you been?". He can't think of anything else to say. It's been so long and he wants to know so much, but the questions won't come out. He just wants to enjoy this moment forever.

"I've been great! I even joined the Karasuno volleyball team" says Hinata as he points his finger towards his team.

"Whaaaat? I thought you'd join my team" Oikawa pouts dramatically. Deep down, he knows that he's telling the truth. One year ago, he had offered Shōyō the opportunity to join his team but, after loosing contact with each other, he had never gotten the chance to ask him again.

"Sorry Oikawa-san. I changed my phone number and moved away, so I wasn't able to get in contact with you" Hinata pouts too, but his is pure and innocent, which makes Oikawa's blush slightly redder than before.

Feeling a bit guilty, the brunette lifts Hinata's chin and, in a soft tone, he says "It's fine Shō. I know what you've gone through and won't pry any further. But this time I'm making sure that I give you my phone number, we've got loads of catching up to do!" a small smile plays on his lips.

"Yes!" answers Hinata excitedly.

***

Watching the sunshine child interact with a stranger (for most of them) wasn't a pleasant sight to behold. 

For the Karasuno parents, watching their favourite kid holding a conversation with a total stranger made their paternal instincts kick off. They couldn't stop staring at the tall brunette who was holding their precious baby too close to his body. When the taller boy started to ruffle Hinata's hair, Daichi had had to hold Suga back from pouncing on the unknown boy, he was ready to throw some fists. "How dare that stinky rat touch my baby like that?" hissed Suga lowly. Daichi could only show his support by answering with a short grunt, quite afraid of using words and saying the wrong thing (which would, most likely, earn him a few glares from his partner).

Tsukishima, on the other hand, was channeling his anger and jealousy and directing it at Oikawa in the form of a glare. He wasn't going to admit his attraction towards the ginger, but he could still try to get rid of the annoying people that kept surrounding the smaller boy. With a sharp "Tsk", he turned to look at his teammates, already knowing what they would look like.

If Tsukishima had managed to control his anger, Noya and Tanaka definitely hadn't. They kept trying to get rid of Ennoshita, Narita and Kinoshita's grip (they had had to sit them down to reduce the risk of them attacking the Aoba Johsai member), and their growls and murmured curses kept getting louder the longer they watched. They just couldn't stand the sight infront of them: someone other than them has touching and acting all friendly with their kouhai. And right infront of everyone, no less!

Asahi didn't know how to react, he knew he couldn't allow the brunette to touch his beautiful underclassman, but he was too much of a wimp to actually walk up to him and separate his arms from their boy (don't get him wrong, in case of extreme need, he'd be the first one to jump in a fight if it meant protecting the small angel). A long breathy sigh escapes his lips when he sees Oikawa patting the ginger's soft hair locks "Suga's not gonna like that" he thinks.

Yamaguchi had been staring the whole time, feeling as the jealousy creeped into his gut, making him feel all uncomfortable with the whole situation. His frown had been deepening with every exchange that the two boys had and, when he heard the brunette mentioning his phone number, he agreed to himself that he'd try to stop that from happening at any cost. No-one is allowed to get their Hinata's phone number (except for them)!

Finally, Kageyama hadn't moved since Oikawa's appearance. He couldn't manage to process everything that had just happened: his ex-senpai and his new best friend knew each other! And they acted like good old friends! He was definitely scowling, and his demeanor looked very dark, alerting some of his teammates to back off from him before he punched someone "accidentally".

"This is gonna be a long day" thinks Daichi (who's still grabbing onto Suga's shoulders and keeping him safely in place) .


	24. The end of the match 1/2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 23!~  
> Sorry guys, this chapter is slightly shorter, but I feel very tired today and couldn't manage to write more... I hope you don't mind it!  
> I'll try to make tomorrow's chapter a bit longer to compensate!~  
> Hope you enjoy the chapter and remember to leave your comments down below!~

"Trashykawa! You're late" growls Iwaizumi from their side of the court. He wasn't really bothered by his captain's tardiness, he was bothered at Oikawa's behaviour towards the small tangerine boy.

"Eeek-" Oikawa screeches as he sees his vice-captain's glare. He pulls Hinata closer to his body and turns to face his team. "You're just jealous because I've got such a cute friend!" he sticks his tongue out and pulls faces at them, not really fearing their wrath as they'd never try anything that could harm the smaller boy in his arms.

"Haaaahh?!" Suga finally snaps "How dare you touch my baby like that, flatass?" he escapes Daichi's grasp and heads towards both of the boys. His steps are quick and determined, his only objective being bringing the ginger back to them safely.

Of course, Hinata is oblivious to all that is happening around him. He has been having his face pressed against the setter's chest, so he couldn't read their lips, but he doesn't mind because he likes feeling the vibrations that come out of the taller boy's chest whenever he speaks. When he decides to lift his head and take a look around, he notices Suga walking towards them.

"Suga-san! Look! Let me present to you Oikawa Tooru. He's Aoba Johsai's captain and he's a good friend of mine!" he smiles and the anger on Suga's face turns into fake cordiality, slowly extending his arm out to shake the brunette's hand.

"Oikawa-san, this is Suga!" the brunette imitates Suga's movements and awaits for the silver haired boy to say something.

With gritting teeth, Suga manages to say "Nice to meet you Oikawa, I'm Sugawara Koushi, Karasuno's vice-captain and Hinata's friend". The moment their hands make contact, Suga squeezes the other's hand tight and whispers without moving his lips "If you wanna keep that pretty face of yours pretty, I'd suggest you stay away from him". As soon as their hands part ways, Suga leans over Hinata and says "Let's go finish the game". A gentle smile spreads across his lips and he pats the ginger curls softly, ushering the boy towards the court.

Hinata smiles at Suga, turns around, and says "Watch me Oikawa-san!" and he trots towards his spot beside Kageyama.

***

"Woah" Oikawa's jaw falls open as he appreciates the ginger's physical abilities. He watches as the small boy lands gracefully on his feet, hair bouncing along with his movements and smile unwavering. "Shō! That was amazing!" he still can't believe that the small, troubled boy he met last year has become this energetic ball of sunshine.

Hinata blushes at the compliment and thanks the stretching captain. Obviously, Oikawa's attempts to grab the ginger's attention, also cathes the other players's attention, which earns him a handful of stares, hisses and "Tsk"s.

"Don't disturb us Flattykawa!" Iwaizumi shouts as he spikes a ball his way.

"Mean Iwa!" pouts Oikawa as he dodges the incoming object.

***

"Oikawa-san! Aren't you gonna play with us?" Hinata asks in a very innocent tone. He has been wandering about the various reasons why the setter isn't playing, but he doesn't seem to manage to get an acceptable answer. On top of that, it's been so long since they saw each other, so he's ecstatic about getting the chance to play with him again.

"Let me finish my stretches and I'll head over immediately!" a large grin is plastered on his face, he's been wanting to play with his small friend for a long time now. He still remembers the first time they met.

***

"Hahahaha! Faggot!" Oikawa was taking a look around, hoping to see his old teammates play in official matches, when he came across a very unpleasant conversation. When he followed the voices and found himself infront of the bathroom doors, he was imagining the worst case scenario.

"I-i'm deaf." The second that he heard that, his mind froze for a few seconds (trying to think about what to do in such a situation). Without thinking about it twice, he burst through the doors and saw a very small kid curled up the wall, his breaths rapid and wild, with an occasional whine escaping from his tightly pursed lips. At each side of the boy were two, mean looking guys who looked much older that the ginger, towering over him and still throwing insults at the scared boy.

"What are you doing?" Oikawa recognised one of the boys from having seen him around the school, when he still studied there. He made his way towards the pair and growled darkly "If you don't can it, I'll make sure your lives become a living hell". Slowly, the boys back away from the ginger and run outside, Oikawa kneels infront of the shaking boy and starts to calm him down. He had recognised this as a panic attack, and he had learned to deal with them accordingly.

Bit by bit, both boys had started talking and getting to know each other. Hinata always had a very open personality, drawing in anyone that could be befriended. Oikawa, on the other hand, acted warm on the outside but was very cold and difficult to befriend. Of course he, like many other people, had been unable to escape or refuse the ginger's smiles, puppy eyes, pouts, giggles and ramblings about volleyball, so he fell for the younger boy instantly. 

And, to this day, he has yet to face these feelings inside of him, but how long will he be able to go on with this farce?

"Okay guys! Let's show them what we can do!" says Oikawa as he stands up and heads towards the court.


	25. The end of the match 2/2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 25!!  
> Sorry guys, I may have forgotten to upload it yesterday... but don't worry, I'll still upload today's chapter later through the day!~  
> I hope you enjoy it and don't forget to leave your comments down below!~

"Tobio-chan!" Oikawa sticks his tongue out and mocks "I'm gonna kick your ass". 

Kageyama fumes at this. He can feel the rage boiling in him and his permanent frown deepens noticeably. He's already thinking about all the things he wants to do to his so called 'senpai' when a soft giggle brings him back to reality. He shakes his head slightly and turns to stare at the ginger beside him.

Hinata feels a pair of eyes on him and shifts himself so that he's facing Kageyama. "Eeek-! W-what is it? W-wanna fight?" the ginger boy takes a step backwards and positions himself in a defensive stance with his fists infront of his face. 

The raven haired boy keeps on watching him and a huff escapes his lips "What were you laughing at, huh?". Although he hadn't meant for it to sound as mad as it did sound, he manages to get his message across, and that's all that matters.

The small boy tenses up slightly and quietly admits "Oikawa-san was teasing you and you fell for it like a small kid". The more he talks, the quieter his voice gets, trying to muffle his soft, angelic giggles.

"He's right Kageyama!" Tanaka and Noya walk up to him and pat his back harshly, making the raven haired boy grunt lowly in discomfort. "Yeah, you fell for it too quick" Noya agrees with a solemn look on his face. They both move towards the net and glare at the tall brunette "What's your problem, huh? Wanna pick a fight with our underclassman?" Tanaka says in a kind of intimidating tone. Noya pops up from behind his best bro and growls like a mad chihuahua.

"TANAKA RYUUNOSUKE! NISHINOYA YUU! IF YOU DON'T STOP WITH THAT NONSENSE OF YOURS, YOU'LL BE RUNNING LAPS UNTIL TOMORROW!" Daichi yells at them. You can see the vein in his head pulsating with anger and smoke is pouring from his ears. Besides him stands a snickering Suga, who can't help but find this whole situation amusing. He has never seen Kageyama so lost, and watching the team's two troublemakers getting punished for their behaviour is always a pleasant sight to behold.

The two boys jump at their captain's howl, turn their heads slowly (not daring to make eye contact with Daichi even once) and make their way to their places on their side of the court quietly (which surprises the Aoba Johsai team, who didn't think it was a possible outcome).

Back to Kageyama. He's standing on the same spot as before, unbothered by the many distractions around him. He makes eye contact with the Aoba Johsai setter, "Tsk" being all that he manages to say as he shakes his 'senpais' stare off of him and returns it with a stare of his own, full of annoyance. He takes a long breath in and walks towards his designed spot, waiting for the match to continue.

***

The final whistle sounds throughout the gym, signalling the end of their practice game.

"Woooooo!" Hinata celebrates in excitement. It's his first real match and he's won! He can't believe it. He can feel himself overflowing with emotion, so he handles it the best way he can: by jumping and running around. 

While the ginger's celebration goes on, the Karasuno troublemakers are getting scolded (again) for "shouting all day" and "getting too riled up to notice that we're not in our gym" with an occasional "if you take your shirt off one more time, Tanaka, you'll be suspended from team activities for a whole week". Ennoshita keeps his scolding and frowns when he notices both boys not paying attention and communicating with each other.

"Ryuu, we should totally celebrate this when we get home!" Noya whispers.

"Hell yeah! Let's go eat out with the first years too!" Tanaka replies.

"Bro you're a genius!" Noya whispers amazed.

"Yeah, too bad you guys won't be able to go". Tanaka and Noya jump at the proximity of the voice and realize that Ennoshita is crouching infront of them and that he has probably heard the whole conversation. Behind Ennoshita stand Kinoshita and Narita, who shake their heads in disappointment at their fellow second years.

In contrast to the feisty second years, the third years are talking together, gathering their things and engaging in conversations with some of the opposite team's members. Obviously though, Suga is still glaring at Oikawa, who is starting to feel a chill running along his back. 

"Iwa-chan, he's glaring at me~" Oikawa whines at Iwaizumi.

"Not my problem" states the vice-captain before returning to his conversation with Karasuno's captain and ace.

"Mean Iwa~" he mumbles to himself as he turns around to look for a certain redhead. The moment he catches sight of the small boy, a smile appears on his face and he heads towards him.

"Boke Hinata Boke! Stay still!" Oikawa sighs at Kageyama's poor attempt to calm the energetic boy. Hinata giggles, unaware of Kageyama's call and skips all the way to the other side of the court unconsciously.

"Uh-oh" whispers Oikawa. He knows that, as soon as the ginger sets foot on his side of the court, he'll get surrounded by some of his teammates, and that's not going to end well.

"Matsun look. Karasuno's sunshine child is coming this way!" Maki says excitedly.

"Let's go meet him!" Matsun replies. Swiftly, both boys move towards the skipping boy and stop infront of him, forcing the ginger to cease his movements. "Well who do we have here?" Matsun smirks.

Hinata looks at them surprised but smiles at the thought of making new friends. "Hinata Shōyō, Karasuno's best decoy!".

Matsun and Maki wince at the boy's radiating smile. "Damn he's cute" they think in unison. Not wanting the boy to notice the light shade of pink that is painting both of their cheeks, Matsun coughs and presents himself. "Matsukawa Issei, middle blocker" he manages to breathe out.

Maki notices his partner's behaviour and stiffles a laugh. He's not as shy as Matsun, so he doesn't have a problem introducing himself through his embarrassment. "Takahiro Hanamaki, wing spiker" he adds a wink at the end. Suddenly, a great idea pops up in his head.

"Why don't you come with us to meet the rest of the team?" he smirks and notices Matsun perking up at the idea.

"Are you sure? I don't want to bother you guys" Hinata mumbles softly, pouting and showing his worry through his eyes.

"Urgh- my heart hurts" whispers Matsun to his partner.

"Same" breathes out Maki. When his heart is calm enough, he opens his mouth and says "Don't worry, I'm sure everyone will appreciate your visit".

Hinata nods enthusiastically and starts to vibrate with excitement. "Let's go!" he shouts softly.


	26. Aoba Johsai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 25!~  
> As always, enjoy!  
> Don't forget to leave your comments down below and to drop some kudos!~

As expected, the beautiful ray of sunshine is gladly accepted by all of the Aoba Johsai members. Iwaizumi, for once, thanks Maki and Matsun internally, glad that he finally has an excuse to talk to the small ginger that makes his heart flutter everytime he smiles.

"Nice to meet you Hinata-san" he says after everyone has introduced themselves.

"Oh! You can call me Hinata, you're older than me so drop the '-san' ". A toothy smile spreads on his lips as he says this. He feels happy. He's making new friends and everyone is so nice to him that he can't help but want to skip around endlessly, although he gets rid of this idea quickly as he notices his two senpais being scolded harshly not too far away from him.

"S-sure!" Iwaizumi mentally slaps himself for stuttering. He's just too mesmerized for his brain to catch up to his mouth, preventing him from talking like a fully functioning person. The little ball of sunshine is just so pure and innocent and everything nice, that he has a hard time swallowing the urge to jump on him and give him the warmest hug ever. When he snaps out of his daydream, he notices that the smaller boy has already moved to the next group of people. "He's the definition of a social butterfly" he thinks.

When a large hand lands in his shoulder, he looks around to meet eyes with Matsun. "So, how do you find the little guy over there?" Matsun grins.

Iwaizumi lets a small smirk escape his lips and he answers "Guess we'll have to thank our captain for being nice sometimes and actually making nice friends, huh?". And just like a demon that has been summoned by someone, Oikawa appears behind the two.

He chuckles lowly and says "Aww, Iwa-chan~ You're welcome!". He can tell that his sudden appearance has scared both men, who jump slightly and turn around to glare at him (Matsun doesn't actually glare at him, it's more just Iwaizumi).

"What the fuck crappykawa! You almost gave me a heart attack!" Iwaizumi yells and spikes the volleyball in his hands towards him. Oikawa barely dodges it and giggles nervously.

"Oikawa-san!" They all turn around to see the small ginger running up to them with a beaming smile. When he reaches the group, he skips into Oikawa, who wraps him in a tight hug. "Your teammates are so friendly! They're very nice too!" Hinata's voice comes out muffled by Oikawa's shirt.

"Yahaba-san is very pretty and I like his hair a lot! Oh! Kindaichi's hair is so cool too and he's so tall! And Kunimi is very nice to me, he's quiet but I like it! Watari-san is such a good libero! I wish he could teach me something! The third years are so amazing too! Hanamaki-san's spikes are so cool! They're all like 'fwaaa' and 'whoosh'! I'm sure I'd learn a lot from him if he taught me something! And Iwaizumi-san is so strong, when he spikes I feel like my arms would be ripped off if I tried to stop it! And Matsukawa-san's blocks are amazing, I wanna go up against him to see if he can block me on a one on one!" he says all in one go. 

Oikawa can feel the ginger vibrating with excitement in his arms, so he lets a chuckle and spares his teammates a glance. As soon as his eyes fall on them, he notices the smiles on their faces and the light shade of pink on some of their cheeks. "Ah, I knew this would happen" he thinks.

Feeling the blush fading out, Maki steps forwards, clears his throat and says "Well, Hinata-kun, you can come practice with us whenever you feel like it. I'm sure none of us will disagree". As he waits for the ginger's response, he earns a few nods and hums of approval from his teammates. A few seconds pass and Hinata still hasn't answered, so he turns to look at Matsun, who just shrugs his shoulders in confusion. "Hinata?" he asks again.

Oikawa pities his friend and lightly taps the ginger's shoulder. Hinata picks his head up and looks at the brunette's face. "They're talking to you" Oikawa explains.

Hinata whips his head around and notices everyone's eyes on him. "Ah! Sorry, I didn't hear you" he bows his head apologetically and turns his head back to Oikawa when he feels the taller boy tapping his shoulder again.

"Shō, you should tell them" he says with worry. Noticing how the ginger doubts what to do, he says "We already talked about this a long time ago. There's nothing to be ashamed of, you know? They're not gonna judge you".

Hinata sighs and turns to face the Aoba Johsai members. His voice trembles slightly "The reason why I didn't hear you guys is because I'm..." he looks at Oikawa and earns an approving nod "I'm deaf".

Everyone's eyes widen at the sunshine's confession. They don't know how to react to the news. It's very shocking to learn that the brightest person you've ever met has such a problem in their life, especially when you can't notice it at all because it's greatly disguised by constant smiles and giggles. So they just stare in silence at the uncomfortable ginger infront of them.

To everyone's surprise, Kunimi walks up to the boy and taps his shoulder. "That doesn't change who you are. Being deaf isn't something that determines you, it's just something that helps you grow stronger. And it would be very stupid of us to judge you because of it. Don't let it weigh you down" he hugs the boy softly and pulls away quickly, only to be hugged tightly by a smiling ginger.

"Thank you" Hinata whispers.

"Kunimi's right. If anyone dares make you feel uncomfortable, just tell us, and we'll beat some sense into them!" agrees Maki.

***

Not too far away from there, Karasuno watches as the opposing team comforts their small ginger. Some of them (cough Kageyama and Tsukishima cough) feel the urge to snatch the ginger from their rivals and bring him back, whilst others choose to smile and feel happy for their little sunshine. Some others don't dare feel anything, scared of their captain's wrath (the second year troublemakers, of course).

Suga feels his frown soften as he sees the happy smile on his baby crow's face. He knows that the ginger feels happier than ever when he's appreciated by others, so the silver haired boy smiles and turns to his team, urging them to start packing up to leave.

***

"Byyee chibi-chan!" yells Oikawa "Remember to text me!". This last statement earns him glares from both his teammates and the opposing team's members.

"I will!" Hinata waves goodbye to his new friends and hops on the bus. He feels very lucky for having so many friends that accept him for who he is. Soon enough, his excitement turns into tiredness, and he slowly drifts into the world of make-believe.


	27. Coach Ukai

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 27 is up and going!~  
> I finally caught up with the chapters! I'm so sorry I delayed it, but writing one chapter each day can make you a bit tired...  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter and remember to leave your comments down below!~

A few weeks later, the Karasuno boys are practicing spikes in the gym when the doors fly open. Everyone turns around but Hinata, who runs up to the net and waits for the ball to get set. As he jumps into the air, he notices that Suga (who was setting the volleyballs) isn't looking at him but at the gym's doors. Looking in the same direction, Hinata looses balance and lands straight into the net.

"Oww" he whines softly. Suga hears the puppy-like cries and turns around alerted.

"Oh my god, Hinata!" he rushes up to the fallen boy (after crashing into the net, the ginger had bounced back and fallen into the floor with a thud) and helps him up. "Are you okay?" the silver haired boy asks worriedly.

"Y-yeah. I didn't know you weren't setting so I ran up and got distracted by you guys, sorry" Hinata stands up and scratches the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"Try using your feet next time instead of your ass" Tsukki smirks.

"Tsukki, that's not nice" Yamaguchi whispers.

"Urasai Yamaguchi" he snaps back.

"Gomen Tsukki" Yamaguchi laughs.

"Who's the man at the door?" Hinata asks as he cocks his head cutely.

"Oh, right!" Suga turns back to the door and walks over to Daichi. "Do you know who he is?" he whispers.

"No idea" the brunette replies. He makes up his mind and moves towards the door. "Excuse me. Do you happen to need our help?" He asks the man. 

Now that he's infront of him, he can clearly make out the man's facial features: Almond-shaped, brown eyes; long, dyed hair held backwards by a head-band; two piercings on his left ear; and a long, thin nose that sits on top of his slightly cut lips. Daichi has a feeling of familiarity whenever he looks at the man, it's as if he has seen him before, but he doesn't know where.

"Hah?!" the man growls with his deep voice "I'm looking for a Takeda-sensei. Is he here?". His chocolate eyes wander around the gym and make a brief stop on a certain ginger that is staring at him from behind a silver haired boy. 

Hinata doesn't trust strangers, especially older men with dyed hair, so when he feels the man's stare on him, he immediately hides behind Suga, his head popping up from behind the taller boy to stare at the stranger.

"Oh wait! Aren't you the store clerk from the convenience store at the end of the street?!" asks an amused Tanaka. Everyone turns back to stare at the man, realising that what the second year boy has said is true.

"I knew he was familiar!" thinks Daichi (he's having his own little moment, so let's focus back on the rest of the team).

"Yeah" the man answers uninterestedly.

"Guess you're right... for once" admits a shocked Ennoshita.

"Thanks" Tanaka smiles. 

"Hey!" he yells when he realises what has just been said about him.

"Who is he?" asks the sunshine child from behind Suga.

"Oh, he's the one who runs the convenience store at the end of the street" Suga smiles at Hinata, who starts to walk from behind him cautiously.

"Oooh" the ginger says in realization. A small smile spreads across his face and the fear leaves his body to get replaced with curiosity. "He's looking for Takeda-sensei?".

"Yeah" Suga looks at him slightly surprised "Did you read his lips from all the way back here?".

"Uh-huh" he nods in response.

"Wow" thinks Suga.

"Takeda-sensei should be back soon, he left a few minutes ago to go get something from his classroom" the captain informs the man.

As soon as those words leave his mouth, Takeda bursts through the doors. "Oh! You're already here!" he adjusts his glasses and calls the boys over. "Listen up everyone. This is Keishin Ukai, and he'll be your coach from now on".

Takeda and Ukai watch on as the boys' faces light up. "We've got a coach?!" Hinata is the first one to voice his excitement.

"That's so cool bro!" Noya follows.

"About time!" adds Tanaka as he laughs.

"Wait. Did you say Ukai?" Suga asks.

"Yes, he's Ukai's grandson" Takeda explains.

"WHAT?!" the second and third years let their jaws hang open at the confession.

***

After a brief explanation on how they had trained with Ukai's grandad, they get on to practicing, wanting to show off their abilities infront of their new coach.

"Damn" Ukai whispers when he watches Hinata and Kageyama perform their freak quick "Why didn't you tell me they could do this, Speckles?".

Takeda stares at the man in disbelief, remembering the uncountable amount of times that he had told the man about his students' abilities. He huffs quietly and decides to ignore the comment. The last thing he wanted was to get into a petty fight with the newly acquired coach that he had been trying to poach for a few consecutive weeks.

"I also have some news" Kiyoko walks up to her teacher and smiles gently. "I've found someone new who will help our team!".


	28. News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 28!~  
> Nothing much to say. Just enjoy the chapter and remember to leave your comments down below!~

When Kiyoko's melodic voice rings through the air, two certain troublemakers whip their heads around (too fast for their own good) and immediately stop what they are doing.

"Kiyoko-saann!!!" before Daichi can react, both boys are already charging towards their manager. Kiyoko jumps slightly and steps to the side, effortlessly evading the second years.

"Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Nishinoya Yuu" smiles Suga. Although he's smiling, you can feel the warnings behind it, telling you to kneel and to oblige to any of his orders to avoid punishments. 

Daichi shudders quietly, not used to seeing such malicious expressions on his boyfriend's angelic features. He steps back and lets the silver haired boy take control over the situation while he walks over to Kiyoko. "Sorry, I wasn't fast enough to catch them on time" he laughs while his hand scratches the back of his neck.

"It's fine" smiles Kiyoko gently (the poor girl is already used to the boys' antiques). "Could you call everyone over? I have some news for you guys" she asks Daichi softly.

"Sure" he turns around and calls for everyone's attention "Okay boys, gather around. Shimizu has some news for us". He waits patiently for everyone to walk over and turns to look at his fellow third year, sending her a small, curt nod.

"As you may know, this is my last year as your manager" she looks around at the boys, a glint of sadness in her eyes "So I have been looking for someone who will help me out this year and who will, eventually, take my place as your manager next year". When those words leave her mouth, silence overtakes the room. The boys (mostly the third and second years) knew that this day would come, but they're still afraid of facing it, they don't want to acknowledge how fast time passes for all of them.

In the midst of all the realization, a petite blonde girl peeks her head around the door's frame. She's too nervous to set foot in the gym, but too excited to stay still outside, so she ends up with half her body inside the gym and half her body outside the gym. 

Noticing the girl's presence, Kiyoko beckons her to move forward. She clears her throat to attract everyone's attention and says "This is Hitoka Yachi, your new manager".

The boys perk up to those words. Their eyes fall on the nervous girl standing beside Kiyoko. They are all still too shocked to process everything correctly, so they remain silent until a cheerful voice interrupts their train of thoughts.

"Hi! Nice to meet you, I'm Hinata Shōyō" the ginger says smiling widely at the short girl (shorter that him, Hinata notices). He finds her cute: her round eyes and plump cheeks, her button nose, her rosy lips and her shoulder length, golden hair that is tied up in a neat side-bun. 

"You're Yachi, right? I think I've seen you before around my classes, are you a first year too?" the short boy bombards her with questions, too absorbed in trying to find out more about the girl to notice that she's shaking slightly due to nervousness. 

Yachi nods on response, swallowing the lump in her throat and whispering a short "yes". She still feels very jittery about the whole situation, but she wants to try and open up to the group of guys infront of her, who will soon become something more like family to the small girl. When she looks at the small boy infront of her, she can feel her heart flutter: the ginger has an angelic face with soft features that entice Yachi briefly, before she catches herself from ogling the boy and tries to cough her obvious blush away.

"Wow, that's so cool! You're already our manager and you're still in your first year? That's amazing!" Hinata chirps happily. He keeps on pestering the smaller girl with questions that include "What is your favourite colour?" or "What's your favourite food?" until a hand pulls him back by the collar of his shirt. 

"You shouldn't hoard over a lady like that" Suga reprimands Hinata with a spark of glee in his eyes "Let her get used to the team before you drown her in questions". He giggles softly at the ginger's pout and turns around to introduce himself to the young blonde.

***

"Hinata-kun, you're deaf?" asks Yachi quietly and slightly concerned.

"Oh yeah" Hinata laughs embarrassedly.

"So you know how to read lips?!" the small girls questions excitedly.

Getting infected by the blonde's enthusiasm, Hinata jusmps happily and answers "Yes, I can teach you if you want!".

And so, a strong friendship is made in the blink of an eye.

No one's surprised to see the small ginger befriending someone so quick, afterall, he's got a very open personality that fits well with everyone else's. 

Some of the teammates stare at the pair, amazed by the affinity they share (like Daichi and Suga), while others watch them interact with jealousy (like Kageyama and Tsukishima, who wish it was them holding a conversation with the angel). 

As they all decide on whether to be upset or feel happy for the young boy, Takeda-sensei skips into the gym and holds up a piece of paper. "Everyone listen, we're having a training camp starting next week!!"


	29. Bus rides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I wanted to thank you all for reading this series and for showing so much support. I really appreciate it when you comment or when you read my chapters, it makes me happy hehe!~  
> Unfortunately, I'm gonna start my exams soon, and I'm not 100% sure of how often I'll be able to post. Obviously, I will continue to write and to post as much as I can, so don't worry!~  
> I don't think the difference will be too big, but I just felt like you guys had to know.  
> Anyways, as always, thanks for reading my work and for being so supportive!~  
> Enjoy!~

He rushes towards the bus, panting slightly and forming small white puffs of air that fade as he runs through them. His cheeks are cold and the gloves on his hands aren't enough to keep him warm, just like the scarf that sits neatly on his neck, covering his red-tainted ears slightly. The more he runs, the warmer he gets (even though the cool air keeps brushing against his face), so he keeps moving as fast as he can until he reaches his destiny.

"Hah, hah, hah" he doubles down to catch his breath and stares at the other boys who have gotten there before him. "Good morning!" he yells excitedly.

"Isn't it too early to be yelling?" groans Tsukishima quietly.

"Isn't it too early to be acting like a butt?" replies the boy.

"That's my kouhai!" yells Tanaka as he slaps the boy's shoulder gently.

"Oi Hinata! That was a good one!" Noya gives the ginger a few head pats and snickers quietly.

Hinata hasn't been able to sleep for more than two hours in a row, he was just too excited to keep sleeping, so his mind woke him up repeatedly to make sure he wasn't missing the trip. Once he got up from bed (an hour earlier than scheduled) he had rushed to clean himself up and to prepare breakfast for everyone (Hinata cooks when he's happy or excited). He opened the cupboards and took out the ingredients to make some waffles, followed by some fruit from the fridge to make a small bowl of mixed, cut fruit for her little sister (who apparently loves to eat fruit as her breakfast's desert).

When he left his house this morning, he looked over at his bike and whispered "Sorry, buddy. I'll take you with me next time". The ginger hadn't wanted to take his bike with him because he knew he'd end up leaving it in school for the whole week which would only invite someone to steal it.

Skipping down the road, Hinata thought about all the new things he'd learn and about all the good friends he'd make once he got there. He wanted to improve his spiking techniques, his recieving techniques, his serving techniques, his blocking techniques,... all of them really. With this thought in mind, he keeps hopping and humming a soft melody as he makes his way to the team's bus.

"Hinata. Where's your bike?" Yamaguchi asks curiously.

"Oh! I left it home because I didn't want it to stay alone all week" a wide smile plays on his lips and everyone's heart just melts.

"Wait" Suga whispers. Suddenly realising something, he grasps Hinata's shoulders and turns him towards himself "Did you walk all the way here?!". The silver haired boy takes the ginger's silence as an agreement and mid-yells "You live too far away to do that! What if someone kidnapped you! Tell us next time and we'll help you get a ride here!" Suga looks at him concerned.

"It's fine Suga-san, but thank you" Hinata smiles happily at the third year. If the ginger had been a puppy, Suga assures his tail would have be wagging frantically.

Before the silver haired boy can say something else, Daichi clears his throat and says "Okay everyone, we're leaving!".

Everyone turns towards their captain and nods in agreement before starting to make their way to the bus. Hinata watches them and yelps in excitement when he understands what's going on, he rushes towards the bus and wriggles eagerly. 

When the bus's doors open, the ginger boy gasps lowly and runs inside, immediately taking a seat by one of the windows.

The other players look at each other (more like they stare daggers at each other) and remain painfully silent. Kageyama is the first one to speak.

"I'll sit with him".

"What?! No! As his favourite senpai, it has to be me!" Noya puffs out his chest.

"Sorry bro, but I have to disagree with you. I'm pretty sure I'M his favourite senpai, so I'll sit with him" Tanaka says.

"I-i also want to sit with him" whispers a concerned Yamaguchi.

"Tsk. Urasai Yamaguchi" growls a slightly pissed Tsukishima.

Their bickering goes on and the boys remain oblivious to the twitching silver head behind them.

"That's not true! I'm sure he'd love sitting with me more!" they continue arguing.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!". Everyone becomes quiet and turns to stare at Suga with wide eyes. "As you guys can't make a simple decision like normal people would, I'll sit with him. End of discussion" he huffs and jumps into the bus.

Daichi sighs and turns towards the other team members, who are staring with their mouths wide open at the silver haired boy. With a small shake of his head, he says "Stop dilly-dallying and get on the bus".

Noya and Tanaka look at each other and nod knowingly. They take advantage of the shock and confusion and rush into the bus, immediately taking the pair of seats that are directly behind their favourite first year.

"Tanaka-san! Noya-san! You're sitting behind us? Yaay!" the ginger's enthusiasm rubs off on both second years, who coo softly when the small boy smiles expectantly at them.

"Of course Hinata! We wouldn't be your senpais if we didn't enjoy the trips together!" Tanaka says smugly.

"That makes absolutely no sense" thinks Suga to himself. Quietly, he bids goodbye to the quiet ride he had imagined before the two "buffoons" (as Suga calls them) showed up. He looks around to search for a certain brunette and finds him staring back at him with gentle eyes. "I love you" he mouths.

"Why didn't you sit with Daichi-san?" whispers Hinata "I thought you would like to sit with your boyfriend".

Suga's ears turn bright red and he turns to look in shock at the ginger. He had totally forgotten about him knowing! As he decides on what to say, he notices the glint of concern in Hinata's eyes. "Don't worry, we're good. I just wanted to enjoy the bus ride with you" he tries to appease the smaller boy "We don't spend much time together, so I wanted to make use of this trip to enjoy your company" his hand falls on Hinata's head and ruffles his hair locks lovingly.

Hinata smiles back at him and says "Thank you Suga-san!" he looks around and quietly whispers "You're my favourite Suga-mama". With a soft giggle, he turns around and starts dangling his legs happily, not paying attention to the almost crying third year beside him.

"I already love this trip" Suga thinks as he wipes away his fake tears.


	30. Tokyo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!~  
> These days have been hectic and I'm only one week through the exams period... Yay.  
> As you can see, this chapter is longer than the previous ones (that's me trying to make up for all of the day when I haven't posted). I keep writing every day, but I don't always have time to write a whole chapter each day, so please bear with me for a whole longer.  
> I'll keep updating slowly, but I'll update nonetheless~  
> Please show some support and remember to leave your comments down below!~  
> Enjoy!~

"Ooohhh!" Noya yells from his seat, jolting Yamaguchi awake and earning a few death glares from both Suga (who was actually quite surprised on how long they had been able to keep quiet) and Tsukishima (who had been vibing to his music, undisturbed, until the second year had decided to kill the mood).

Tanaka, who was obviously not sleeping (wink, wink), opens his eyes and looks at his best friend in surprise. "What is it bro?" Noya points towards the sky and turns around to smirk at Tanaka.

"Check it out yourself" he waves his hand towards the window.

Tanaka looks outside the window confused but immediately opens his mouth wide to howl "SKY TREE!!".

If anyone had been able to sleep through the first yell, the second one had totally scared them awake. All except Hinata, of course, who kept his eyes closed the whole time.

Suga whips his head towards the sleeping ginger, momentarily forgetting that no amount of sound would be able to wake the boy up. He sighs in relief when he notices the undisturbed look on Hinata's face and takes a moment to appreciate his features: 

His long, ginger eyelashes rest softly on top of his pale, freckled cheeks, wavering slightly whenever Hinata moves his eyes unconsciously in his dream; his lips are slightly parted, letting the air come out as soft sighs; his body rises and lowers back down with every soft breath; and his sunset-colored hair locks shine with the sun's rays falling on them delicately. He looks ethereal. A gift sent from God. Simply angelic.

Suga smiles softly and runs a gentle hand through the ginger's soft curls, slowly untangling some small knots and moving a few stray hairs from his sleeping face.

Suddenly, he remembers why he had been so worried and he angles his head so that he can stare coldly at the two troublemakers that are sitting behind him.

"Guys" he says softly. Noya and Tanaka move to face the third year and freeze when their eyes meet his cold glare. "If you shout one more time, I won't wait for the bus to stop, I'll shove you out the window right now" he waits for both of them to nod obediently and adds "And if you wake up Hinata, I'll make sure you won't be able to play volleyball ever again". As soon as he's said that, he turns back around and makes himself comfortable, carefully adjusting the sleeping boy's head so that it is resting on his shoulder and closing his eyes gently to get some more rest.

* * *

The bus finally arrives at its destination and everyone starts to get off. Knowing that everyone is wide awake and noticing that Suga is too far away to hurt them, Tanaka and Noya make their way to Hinata.

"Oi! Shōyō!" Noya runs up to him and swiftly curls an arm around the ginger's shoulders. He makes sure the slightly taller boy is looking at him before saying "Do you wanna see something cool?". Hinata nods in amusement and Noya grins. He turns around and says "Tanaka, if you would do the honour".

Tanaka gives both of them a thumbs up, clears his throat and points towards the air "Behold the Sky Tree!" he yells at the top of his lungs.

"Woahhhh!!" Hinata muses in shock. He's always been more of a country boy, but most cities have lots of new things to try, and he enjoys scouting them for new sights. Now, he can't believe his eyes: he's right in front of THE SKY TREE!

"That's a steel tower" deadpans Tsukishima with a small snicker.

"Huh?!" Tanaka wears his scariest face and turns to the blond guy. "Are you saying we're wrong? Your senpais are never wrong!".

"Yeah Tsukki. Don't be like that" Noya says as he shakes his head in disappointment.

"Tsk. Whatever you say, but don't teach the hobbit" he gestures towards Hinata "any more wrong things. As much as I dislike him, we need him in the team and with your stupidity rubbing off on him, not even I will be able to help him pass his exams" he smirks and walks away, Yamaguchi lowly giggling beside him.

"Oi! Come back here you beanpole! What do you mean by that, huh?!" Noya runs after him and attempts to tackle him to the ground. Tsukishima evades him and continues walking, ignoring his upperclasman's cries of protest.

Hinata, still oblivious to the taller boy's comment and to all the ruckus around him, runs up to his partner and exclaims excitedly "Kageyama look! That's the Sky Tree!".

"It's not" the raven haired boy replies.

"It is! Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-san said so!" his eyes sparkle with joy.

Kageyama looks back up at the object skepticaly, then back at the small boy and repeats "It's not".

"It is!" Hinata frowns and a small pout plays on his lips.

And so, a small argument starts between the two. 

After a few more "it's not"s and "it is"s (obviously accompanied by a few "boke"s and "Bakageyama"s), they decide to ask someone "more reliable" as Kageyama says.

"Suga-san!" Hinata runs up to the silver haired boy.

"What is it Hinata?" Suga asks gently.

"Bakageyama is calling me a liar!” the small boy tugs on Suga’s sleeve and points at Kageyama, pouting tenderly and acting like a little kid would. The silver haired male’s expression stiffens and his eyes follow the ginger’s finger to look at the tall first year, who jumps slightly at the third year’s hostility.

“I-I didn’t. He’s wrong and I’m just telling him” he scowls at himself internally for stuttering.

“I’m not wrong! Tanaka-san and Nishinoya-san told me!” Hinata replies back. At the mention of both buffoons, Suga’s frown deepens and his eyes twitch subtly. He knows that nothing good ever comes out from their mouths, especially if it's not volleyball related. Expecting the worst outcome, he slowly turns towards Hinata and makes him look his way.

“Hinata” although he has tried to make his voice sound gentle, everyone notices the anger starting to build up in him and quietly takes a step back. As always, the ginger is oblivious to everything and just looks up to his senior, waiting for him to continue talking. “What did those two tell you?”.

“They showed me the Sky Tree!” Hinata exclaims excitedly, pointing his small, slender fingers towards the tall steel tower. Suga visibly relaxes, letting out a deep, long sigh (to be honest, he had expected anything and everything from those two) and thanks god for letting it be something stupid and innocent, and not something that would force him to beat the two second years.

“Sorry Hinata, but Kageyama’s right on this. That’s not the Sky Tree, it’s just a steel tower” he pats the smaller boy’s head gently.

“Aww man, I really wanted to see the real deal” a soft sigh escapes the ginger’s lips and the excitement quickly drains from his eyes. 

Not being able to watch the scene unfolding in front of him, Suga ruffles Hinata’s hair and says “Don’t worry, I’ll take you to visit it when we’ve got the time”. A tender expression plays on his face as his hand continues to roam freely through the ginger locks.

Hinata’s eyes begin to sparkle again and a broad, toothy smile appears on his lips. “REALLY?!” he yells excitedly.

“Really” answers Suga softly.

“Yaaayy!” the ginger jumps upwards and runs over to Kageyama “Did you hear that? We can see the real one!”.

Kageyama’s cheeks blush at the ginger’s proximity and he immediately shoves a hand into the shorter male’s face, pushing him away just roughly enough for it to hide his embarrassment and make it look like annoyance.

* * *

“Okay guys. Remember: we run up the hill and make three turns to the right until we reach this same spot. Got it?” Daichi asks his team, looking at Hinata and Kageyama knowingly. It wouldn’t be the first time those two start competing and end up getting lost.

Karasuno had decided to come the day before the training camp began to avoid having to wake up very early to make it in time. Now, having some spare time before dinner time, they have decided to go running, to keep their stamina up and calm some of the boys down.

“Hai!” answers the team. They soon start running in pairs, making sure no one runs alone to avoid someone getting lost on their own in such a big city like Tokyo.

“Okay! Next!” the captain calls out. He turns around and sighs internally: of course Kageyama and Hinata had to pair up together. The boys look at Daichi expectantly, awaiting for his signal to start running off “Don’t run off, try to follow the path” both first years nod and get into position. “Go!” yells Daichi.

The team watches as they bolt off, wondering if they’ll be able to come back safely without getting lost along the way.

* * *

“I’m gonna win this time!” howls Hinata, he doesn’t even need to look at the raven haired boy to know what he’s gonna say. Knowing that the ginger won’t look at him, Kageyama just huffs and silently accepts the challenge. He speeds up and pushes past Hinata, earning a quiet yelp from the small boy and forcing him to speed up too. Hinata closes his eyes and keeps speeding up, not noticing that he’s already running ahead of Kageyama and is about to make the wrong turn.

Kageyama sees the ginger turning to the left and screams “Oi Boke! That’s the wrong way!”. He suddenly remembers that the ginger won’t be able to hear him and pauses, panting hurriedly and looking around for help. Soon, he spots the next group of boys running up to him. “Sugawara-san!” he quietly thanks the gods for allowing the third years (Suga and Asahi) to be the next teammates to pass by and not someone else (like Tsukishima).

“Kageyama!” the pair of boys make a stop in front of the raven haired male.

“Where’s Hinata?” asks Asahi as he looks around.

“He ran faster than me and made the wrong turn. I couldn’t catch up with him and he obviously can’t hear me if I yell” he huffs out and frowns in worry.

“Okay” Suga tries to remain calm and takes a deep breath in. “Asahi and I will look for him” he turns to look up at the gentle giant to check if he’s okay with it. When he receives a curt nod and a serious expression from his fellow third year, he smiles gently and turns to look at Kageyama “You should head back and tell Daichi that Hinata’s lost and that Asahi and I are looking for him. I’ve got my phone with me so that he can text me if you find him”.

“Hai!” Kageyama nods and runs off to the group.

* * *

Hinata looks at his surroundings and sighs “I knew I’d end up getting lost”. He jogs slowly along the street and finds a boy sitting by the roadside “Hi! Are you lost too?”. The blond boy with dark hair roots flinches and turns around to look at Hinata. His golden, cat-like eyes widen as he registers the ginger’s appearance. He watches as the soft, curly hairs fall on the boy’s forehead, small beads of sweat hanging off of some of the ginger tips; his long eyelashes flutter and his large, honey-coloured eyes look at him intently. The blonde boy watches as the ginger cocks his head cutely to one side, as if he were a small puppy, and smiles widely at him.

“Ah! Sorry, I didn’t introduce myself!” Hinata waves his hands around in embarrassment, he clears his throat and says “I’m Hinata Shōyō, first year”.

“Kozume Kenma” he blushes slightly and adds “second year”.

“Oh my god I'm sorry, I didn't know you were older than me!” Hianata bows and looks back at him.

“It’s fine, I don’t care about honorifics or anything” Kenma says as he turns back to his game.

“Oh, okay! What are you playing?” Hinata slowly approaches the boy and sits beside him, curiously peeking down at the Nintendo Switch’s screen.

“Oh, um. The legend of Zelda: Breath of the wild” Kenma mutters softly. He can feel the tips of his ears turning slightly redder every time the ginger inches closer to look at his game. 

“Um, sorry. Could you repeat that? I didn’t catch it” Hinata frowns and scolds himself internally for getting carried away and not paying attention to the blonde’s lips.

Kenma turns around slightly and looks at the small boy “The legend of Zelda: Breath of the wild”. This time, he notices as Hinata’s eyes linger on his lips. A blush creeps up his neck, but the rational part of his brain takes over and he suddenly realises something. The blonde boy pauses his game and his hand leaves the controller, slowly making its way upwards towards his own face. 

Hinata watches in horror as his new friend covers his lips, eyes widening and mouth going dry. Noticing the ginger’s actions, Kenma urges his hand from his mouth and asks “Are you deaf?”. Humidity settles in the smaller boy’s eyes as his head nods in fear, shaking subtly. 

“It’s fine, it’s not like that’s gonna change how I see you” Kenma’s voice gets quieter and quieter with each word, the embarrassment from before settling on his cheeks in the form of a light pink blush.

Hinata smiles widely at Kenma and gives him a quick hug. He separates himself from the boy quickly and says “Thank you”.

* * *

After twenty minutes of running around, searching for the lost first year, Suga is starting to panic. Tokyo is a large city full of streets and alleys where the small boy could have run to. The frustration of being incapable to find his underclassman, the worry and the stress are taking a toll on him, he’s getting very tired and, on top of that, there’s no way of contacting the ginger because he has left his phone at the room where they are staying. Finally, Asahi’s voice brings him back to reality.

“Isn’t that Hinata?”. Suga whips his head around and spots the mob of ginger curls sitting on a bench. He immediately starts making his way towards the baby crow at a quick pace, completely forgetting about Asahi, who just joggs quietly beside him.

“Hinata!” the silver haired boy yells.

Hinata notices something moving and turns around to see his senpai running towards him. “Suga-san!” he screams “I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice I made the wrong turn until I was lost. I’ll never do it aga-” he gets interrupted by a pair of long, slender arms wrapping tightly around him. When he gets released, Hinata stares at Suga in surprise.

“You had us all worried” his tone gets gentler “Try to look where you are going next time”. With a ruffle to his hair, he adds “Have you been here alone all this time?”.

The ginger looks around and says “No, I was playing with a new friend, but a tall boy came to pick him up. Turns out he was also lost!” he giggles.

“Well then, let’s go back” Asahi sighs in relief and texts his captain to inform the rest of the team about them finding Hinata.


	31. Notice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey!!   
> I'm back!

Hey guys I'm back!!  
I'm so sorry I couldn't post for so long, the corona-virus situation in my country isn't the best and I've had to deal with some personal affairs.  
On the bright side, I finished my exams! (finally omg)  
This means that I'll be back to posting in no time, although I'll have to make the updates less frequent (I've still got a lot of school work to do...)  
For now, I've modified all the chapters to try and fix any mistakes or to adjust their structure a bit. Don't worry though, the story hasn't been changed or anything, so feel free to "ignore" the modifications!  
Lastly, I just wanted to thank all of you guys for sticking with this story for so long and for showing concern towards me. It is very appreciated :)  
Love you guys and see you soon!!


	32. Nekoma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad to finally be back, it's been too long!  
> Even though I'm not entirely sure of how much I'll be able to write each day, I'll try to post once a week (maybe twice depending on the amount of work I have).  
> I'm slowly getting back into the game and I'm so excited!  
> As always, thanks for your support and I hope you like it!  
> Love you all <3

"So, who was that little beauty?" the taller boy asks.

The shorter boy pauses his game and stares at his childhood friend in annoyance. "He's my new friend" the faux blonde answers with a voice not much louder than a whisper.

The taller boy watches in stupefaction as his friend shrugs and continues playing with his game. "Your what?" he asks again.

"My new friend- what's wrong with you?" the shorter boy asks as he sets his eyes on the black-haired boy next to him who is just standing in the middle of the street with his mouth wide open.

"You... made a friend willingly?" the taller boy questions, still very shocked.

"What do you mean Kuroo?". His cat-like eyes squint at his friend, irritation lacing his words.

Taking notice of the displeasure in the shorter boy's voice, Kuroo waves his hand around and says "Aww come on kitten don't be like that. I am just surprised cuz you never socialize with people you don't know, especially if you're alone".

"Tch. Shut up Kuroo and don't call me that, it's stupid" Kenma huffs and resumes his game once again, secretly praying for his friend to stop bothering him.

***

"And he said he plays volleyball too, just like us!" Hinata explains excitedly to his teammates.

When Asahi and Suga had brought the small ginger back, he had insisted on telling everyone about this new friend he had just made. Obviously, this had piqued everyone's interest. Who wouldn't want to listen to their sunshine child's stories?

"Wait, so you just became friends with a total stranger?" asks an amused Ennoshita.

Hinata stares at the second year and cocks his head to the side questioningly, just like a small puppy "Yeah. Why? Isn't that how friends are made?".

"Fair point" Ennoshita thinks "But still..."

"Only idiots like you would go around making friends with total strangers when they're lost in such a big city" Tsukishima says (obviously making sure that the small ginger can read his lips, what would be the point of saying so if his target hadn't heard him?).

"Tsukki that's mean"

"Urasai Yamaguchi"

"Gomen Tsukki"

"I'm not an idiot!" the decoy blurts out suddenly, making everyone turn to him once more. "Sure I'm not as intelligent as you and my grades aren't that great either, but at least I'm not a salt shaker who can't make friends!"

Silence. Hinata had just clapped back, and at Tsukishima no less! As everyone assimilates what has just happened, a sudden laugh erupts in the quiet room.

"Bahahaha good one Hinata!" Tanaka howls.

"That's my kouhai!" follows Nishinoya, who is now laughing rolling across the floor.

"Oi! That's enough you two!" Ennoshita manages to mid-yell at them through the confusion.

"Pfft salt-shaker" Yamaguchi giggles.

"What? You too Yamaguchi?" Ennoshita asks exasperatedly.

"Heh, how does it feel to be talked back at by someone that doesn't even reach your chin?" smirks Kageyama.

"Okay okay, that's enough" Suga says in an attempt to control the situation. He can see his boyfriend starting to fume through the corner of his eye.

"Hey! I'm not that small!"

"What did you say King?"

"Come on guys, Daichi will get mad" tries to appease a nervous Asahi.

"Don't call me king you salt shaker"

"Bahahaha"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Daichi declares. And, just like that, the night continues.

***

"Whaaaat? You made a new friend and didn't tell us?" the green eyed boy asks.

"He's a cutie too" Kuroo chirps in "I swear he looks just like a porcelain doll". Knowing that he has caught his teammates' attention, the rooster head clears his voice and says "I couldn't get a good look cuz we were in a hurry, but I can still assure that he was an angel".

"Cut the crap and spill the beans already" declares an annoyed libero.

A soft laugh escapes Kuroo's lips "Fine fine. Fair skin, fluffy-looking hair, Disney character eyes, puppy-like behaviour... I could go on for days'', and with a final dramatic sigh he turns around to study his teammates' expressions.

Kenma keeps his eyes on his game, paying no attention to the conversation going on around him; the boy with the emerald eyes gapes at his captain in admiration; the small libero stares in disdain, “this dude is so stupid” written all over his face; a boy with a mowhawk ponders with his eyes closed, imagining the person that his captain has just decribed; the sharp-eyed second year stands emotionless; a first year brunette nods in agreement to his captain’s words; and the team’s vice-captain just shakes his head no, not wanting to believe that his friends are acting seriously for something like this.

All of a sudden, the doors to their gym pry open and in comes a small elderly man wearing a red track suit. “Okay guys listen up” he says and waits patiently for his students to assemble around him “The other schools will be here soon so start warming up and set the nets up”. With a collective “Hai”, the players begin to prepare for the upcoming matches.

***

“Why am I so lucky to be left behind with you?” Tsukishima sighs.

“Aw come on. It’s not that bad and I had yet to spend some time with you to get to actually know you better” a blinding smile appears on Shōyō’s face.

The blonde squints at the light-emanating boy and coughs to cover the light shade of pink that is now crawling across his cheeks. “Whatever” he murmurs and turns around to face the small ginger “I’m gonna go ask that store clerk if she knows how to get to Nekoma”. 

How did both of them end up together? You may ask. Well it’s pretty simple if you ask me: Hinata had woken up with a terrible stomach pain due to the nerves bottling up inside of his tiny body (maybe also due to the midnight snacks he had secretly eaten when no one was looking). As the team had to leave early to get to the Nekoma court on time, they had decided to draw lots (everyone wanted to spend some alone time with Hinata, so there wasn’t any other way for them to decide) and choose someone who would stay with the little sunshine until his stomach pain subsided. Surprisingly, Tsukishima’s name had been the chosen one and, much to everyone’s dismay, he had had to stay behind and look after the decoy.

As the tall player exits the building where they had stayed the night, he turns around once more and states “Don’t you dare wander around. If you get lost, I won’t go looking for you”. That being said, he makes a 180º and strides towards the stall.

“I wasn’t gonna go anywhere anyways” pouts an offended Hinata as he follows his teammate outside and leans against the building's wall.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” a man comes up to the vulnerable ginger and makes himself noticed by waving his large hand in front of Hinata’s face. “Are you lost baby boy?” the man asks in a drawling voice.

Shōyō takes a step back unconsciously and shakes his head no with energy “No, I’m just waiting for my friend to come back” he answers in his dulcet tone. 

The stranger grimaces at the mention of a friend and is quick to ask “Why don’t you drop off that friend of yours and come back with me? I’ll take you wherever you wanna go”. 

Now, Hinata isn’t a scaredy-cat, but he is painfully aware of his stature and body constitution, and he’s not exactly someone strong that can defend themselves against danger. That’s why, when the man moves forward to grab his arm, he takes yet another step back and finds himself looking for something to help him get out of this situation. 

“Um sorry but I have to go” as soon as he says this, his body moves on impulse and he starts to walk away swiftly, trying to evade the stranger’s grip. Unfortunately, the unfamiliar man has done this many times before, and he has met many other poor souls that have tried to evade him by making a run for it, so he’s already prepared. The man ushers his large, calloused hand forward and wraps his skilled fingers around Hinata’s slender arm, pulling him towards him and preventing the younger male from making an escape.

“Not so fast baby. Hasn’t anyone told you that it’s rude to walk away mid-conversation?” the man grins evilly.

“Hasn’t anyone told you that it’s illegal to detain someone against their will and to continually harass them even though they have made it clear that they want nothing to do with you?” a sarcastic voice says from behind them.

“Tsukki!” Hinata yelps as the blonde boy makes his way into his line of sight.

The man makes a swift turn and stares at the source of the voice, having to crank his head upwards to meet the taller boy’s condescending gaze. “Who are you? If you have nothing else to say, fuck off” the stranger says with a hint of cowardice in his voice.

“I think you meant to say that you were already leaving if you didn’t want to have a friendly encounter with the cops, didn’t you?” Tsukishima glares at the man and smiles angrily. Although he still refuses to admit that he has developed some kind of affection towards the smaller boy, Tsukishima cares deeply for Hinata, and he would never even dream about watching the ginger getting hurt. And who did this man think he was? Not everyone has the right to talk to the small angel, even less to touch him or to harbor such evil intentions towards him.

Standing in front of such a tall boy and having no other choice but to look upwards in order to meet his eyes, the man starts to feel the pressure. “I was just messing around dude, no need to get so aggressive. I was already leaving anyways” the man lets Hinata’s arm go and rushes away immediately.

“Che, coward” Tsukishima glares daggers at the man’s back once more before turning to face Hinata. “Are you okay?” he asks coldly, although he can’t help it when a hint of concern laces his words.

Shōyō looks at Tsukishima, nods shyly and jumps towards him to engulf the slim giant into a big, warm hug. “Thank you” he whispers.

What Hinata doesn’t notice is the light shade of pink that sits on Tsukishima’s cheeks and the small smile that plays on the blond’s lips. “Hm” he answers before shoving the smaller boy away softly “Let’s go” and both boys take their leave with a new, stronger bond tying them together.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter. Remember to leave any advice or suggestions below.  
> Hope you liked it and see you next time!~


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